Another Fortunate Accident
by Analogk37
Summary: [Repost] BGC 2040 alternate storyline, picking up from Ep. 12 Made in Japan with just a small, dark twist. [Continued in 'AFA Intermission: Reflections']
1. Ch 1: Friendly Fire

Here is a reposting of a fic I first published back in 2002. I'm actually still working on it today, but 2 1/2 volumes and 48 chapters later, I'm very near completion.

Since so many reviewers helped in pushing along this fic, I wanted to post up the finished results here at plan is to put up all the chapters one at a time, a few days or a week apart, to be a reminder to me to finish the last couple of chapters I have to go.

For other author notes and credits, please visit my website. The link is in my profile.

As always, I don't own BGC 2040 or the characters within. They belong to others, such as AIC and ADV films.

* * *

Another Fortunate Accident

A Fanfiction of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 by Analogk37

Ch. 1: "Friendly Fire"

Henderson had prepared an exquisite meal to celebrate the defeat of the gigantic military boomer. Afterwards Nene and Mackie had left fighting about manners again followed shortly by Sylia saying she had some 'business' to attend to. That left the two remaining Sabers with some quality time to themselves, neither apparently in a hurry to leave. They sat alone on the pool deck of the Lady 633 building, the thin silence between them evidence of their quiet introspection. Linna Yamazaki stirred her drink with a thin straw, her own thoughts reliving the whirlwind of events of the past day. Going home to old, familiar problems with her family only to be called back by the needs of her friends here in Tokyo... her new family in a sense, she realized.

In the meantime, Priss Asagiri's thoughts flowed into the new words of a song she had been working on. Somehow her soul felt at ease here, even though most of her creative work was accomplished in her trailer of a home, or her usual solace in the megalopolis around them… on her bike. She stole a glance over at her teammate… her 'chosen' teammate… apparently lost in her own thoughts as she continued to stare into her drink. A small smile crept up towards her face… only to be cut off by the expressionless mask she constantly wore. Linna might be her teammate, and perhaps even someone she could call a friend, but Priss wasn't about to outwardly show if she felt anything outside of a "Thank You" for her help.

The woman stirring her drink thought back to her own friend that had pulled her from another arranged date back home. She was torn at the time, but now felt as if she had made the right choice. A question popped into her head, as the singer across from her became the sole focus of the woman's mind. "So… did you miss me?" Linna half-joked with her.

The mask stayed intact despite Linna's warm smile. "Not really," Priss answered flatly. "Nene could've handed me a battery pack and gotten blown out of the sky all by herself."

"Hmmf… be that way. See if I ever try and scrape your butt off the pavement again!" Linna scowled, frowning furiously.

Priss looked a bit taken aback by her fellow Knight Saber. _Why does she always take things so seriously? _Deciding on a more neutral tact, Priss recalled an earlier topic of conversation. "So how were your parents?"

"They set me up again," Linna responded sullenly.

"How was he?"

"He was…" Linna blushed slightly recalling the blond haired man. "… really gorgeous…and extremely kind as well."

Priss smirked briefly before her face turned neutral again. "So why didn't you stay then?"

A look of surprise flashed across Linna's eyes. She glanced briefly at Priss with a confused face, then bowed her head before answering. "I guess… I told him that I had found what I was looking for here in Tokyo." Linna looked up into Priss' eyes with a smile that appeared laced with suggestions, or at least that's the impression Priss felt as she quickly broke off the direct contact.

Recalling the "thank you" that Linna had given her earlier in the evening, fresh questions came to mind. Priss wasn't exactly sure what Linna had meant by that statement, but she wasn't about to ask her in front of the others. But since they were alone now… "Um… you mean the Knight Sabers, right?"

"Of course! Why, what did you…" Linna started before the awkward tone of Priss' question dawned on her. She blushed furiously at the implied meaning, uncertainty halting her mind as forgotten questions regarding her true feelings resurfaced.

Neither woman spoke as distant sounds of the busy city beneath them echoed off surrounding buildings and onto the pool's surface. "Can I get either of you another drink perhaps?" Henderson's approach had gone unnoticed by either Priss or Linna, as both were lost deep in thought.

"Yes, please," Linna responded quickly as she cracked a stress filled smile.

"And you Miss Priss?" he asked, filling Linna's wineglass once again.

"No thanks."

The noisy city filled in the empty space once again as Henderson left the two Knight Sabers alone to their thoughts. Linna finally decided to start off again, desperately trying to thaw the ice between them. "Besides, I'm just not ready to settle down now anyway."

"Why is that?"

"My parents just want me to squeeze out a house full of grandchildren for them to spoil."

"Have something against children?"

Priss' line of questioning threw Linna off once again. _Will she ever stop needling me? _she scowled inwardly, and a bit outwardly too.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way," Priss apologized, wondering why she even cared if Linna was upset anyway.

"No, it's okay. I really do want to have kids. A part of me has always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. So, when the right … " she paused, considering the right words "… situation arises, I'd like to have more than just one."

"So you do want a 'litter' of your own, don't you?"

"Well, when the time is right," Linna answered with a smirk. "But, right now all I want is to kick some boomer butt better than you!" she challenged, standing up from the table with a raised fist.

Priss stood up and faced Linna wearing a small grin. "You never give up, do you?"

"Damn right I don't. Not now… not ever!"

* * *

Sylia's secure com frequency chattered to life as the fixer's face displayed on the screen in front of her. "So what do you have this time?"

"I'm short on time right now so I'll try and keep this brief. You obviously know about your father's old lab facilities right?"

"Of course I… wait a second." Sylia closed the channel for a moment to read the flashing warning coming from a separate display off to the side. "Damn, why now?" She clicked the frequency back on again. "I'm sorry but I'll have to get back in touch with you later."

"What's wrong?"

"Duty calls. I'll get back to you through the normal channels."

"Fine."

* * *

The fixer stared at the static for a second before letting out a sigh.

"What happened?" asked a voice emerging from the shadows.

"One of your boomers just screwed up the plan. Apparently there is a rouge boomer that the ladies must deal with right now."

"When can you set up another meeting?"

"It's out of my hands at the moment, but I'll see what I can do to expedite things."

"See that you do." A deep frown covered Brian J. Mason's face as impatience ruled his emotions at the failed setup attempt. Time normally wasn't a very generous commodity. _I suppose after planning seven years, a few hours or even a few days aren't too much to wait for a revolution _Mason consoled himself.

* * *

Nene stared at the computer screen, unable to clear the image of Mackey from her mind. "Why does he have to be so young?" Shaking her head, Nene resolved to at least answer a few questions that were bugging her. "Well, here goes ten years in the big house if I'm caught. Display Stingray family…" she started before a special beeping noise distracted her from the task at hand. "Now what?"

Picking up the communicator to her ear, she answered the call. "Yes… OK, I'm on my way." She threw on some clothes while planning out the fastest route to the rendezvous point. "Computer off," she commanded on the way out the door. _Oh well, I'll have to finish this in a little while. I sure hope this is a quick one_ the blond haired Knight Saber thought to herself. _Hey, what am I worried for? We just took out a military boomer with only two of us! With all of us this time, one little office boomer shouldn't be a problem at all.

* * *

_

Flying high over MegaTokyo, three bright lights flashed from rooftop to rooftop. "Hey, this one's close to work," Linna laughed as she bounced off the top of the Hugh Geit building.

"It's over there!" Nene pointed out, zeroing in on a rising plume of smoke from a building two offices over.

"Let's do this quick and get it over with," Priss added. The three sabers landed on the roof as Nene scanned the area.

"The ADP still isn't here yet and there are a couple of people still in the building. The boomer is two floors down from here."

"C'mon then! Let's go!" Linna shouted, flying off the edge and into the smoke rising out of the broken windows.

"Hey, wait up!" the Red Saber shouted, following close behind her teammate.

"Status report," Sylia's voice chimed in over the helmet's com system.

"The boomer is two floors down. Linna's engaging now," Priss reported calmly.

"Good. Listen Priss, hold off and back Linna up this time. I want to see if she can handle it on her own."

"Why? Are you trying to replace me?" Priss parried as she followed Linna and Nene's lead off the roof.

"I'm more concerned with the repairs your suit needs after the beating you took earlier. But, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually worried about Linna beating you out."

"I see it!" Linna interrupted, ignoring the banter. "It hasn't mutated much yet. This'll be a piece of cake!"

"Linna, be careful!" Nene cautioned, watching the Green Saber charge in through the smoke directly at the rampaging boomer.

The rouge monstrosity shifted its burning eyes towards the newcomers. However, some of the basic programming remained intact despite the corruption spreading from its core. Thus, a familiar voice, at least to one of the Knight Sabers, flowed through the burning office. "Employee's have been on break for an extended period of time… this must be recorded in your files."

Linna stopped her charge just short of the target, feet frozen to the ground just as the pale feminine face of the boomer became visible by the fires in the confined office space.

"Linna, what's wrong?" Nene cried frantically.

"This boomer… I know this boomer… she's… she's the accounting manager from my work!"

"Damnit Linna, it doesn't matter! Smash it!" Priss yelled out as she flew in the window behind Nene.

Linna still couldn't move, paralyzed by the thought of attacking something… no, someone she knew, even if she had gone rogue.

That was all the time the boomer needed, tentacles exploding out of its right arm. "Employee's who do not return to their workstations should be punished," it announced. Grabbing the immobile green hardsuit, the boomer flung Linna across the room and through a computer terminal, sparks flying wildly through the air.

"Linna!" the two sabers shouted in unison as their fellow Knight crashed headfirst into the far wall, the boomer still not releasing its grip on her.

"Priss!" Sylia shouted over the com channel as the blue saber started a charge.

"I'm on it!"

"No, I'm closer!" Nene interrupted, crouching in tight with the boomer. "Eat This and Die!" the teenager screamed as she fired a series of darts into the beast's now mutating back.

Still holding Linna, the boomer pointed out its left arm in response to the meager attack and fired out a tendril towards the red saber. Too close to dodge out of the way, the impact from the blow knocked Nene into the charging Priss sending both crashing into a wrecked computer terminal.

"Damnit Nene, stay out of my way!" Priss yelled, struggling to free herself from the entanglement of wires and cords from the terminal.

A scream blared over the Knight Sabers com channel for just a second before a static filled crack ended the transmission.

"Hang on Linna!" Priss shouted frantically as she was finally freed from the confining wires with a rip of her hardsuit's arms. Nearly tripping over the wobbling form of Nene on the ground, she shouted out her battle cry, arching her right arm back in attack position.

The boomer recognized the threat for what it was. What was left of it's initial programming, more advanced for the office models, adapted accordingly. Not built with any defense mechanisms in hand, the boomer simply used what was available.

Through the smoke, Priss could barely make out the boomer as it turned towards her, standing its ground. Arm already cocked back, she screamed to warn hell itself of its next inhabitant, eyes closing reflexively from the intensity of the attack. She threw the punch down at the core, fist impacting, as the knuckle-bomb exploded with a gratuitous pop… except something didn't seem quite right… Priss felt short of where she thought her target was.

Her eyes opened to the sight of green and red spattered on a blue armored fist. "uhhnnn…" a weakened groan filled Priss' ears as she looked up into the orange helmet of Linna's hardsuit. _"…oh my god…"_

"PRISS! Priss, what the hell just happened to Linna! Her suit's showing a breach and her vitals just plummeted!" Sylia shouted out. Silence was her only answer

The boomer released its grip on the 'shield', letting the prone form of Linna to fall deathly into the arms of the Blue Saber. Satisfied that appropriate reprimands had been dealt out to the offending employees, the boomer turned towards another workstation. "Where is your master… this will be recorded in your file!" the beast billowed out smashing the computer into pieces and moving onto the next cubicle.

_To be continued…_


	2. Ch 2: I’m a Vigilante, not a Doctor

Mandatory Disclaimer: Since I didn't put one up for the first chapter, I did want to point out one thing in case you were concerned – No Boomers were actually hurt during the making of this fanfic.

Now on to more important matters…

* * *

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 2 – "I'm a Vigilante, not a Doctor Damnit!"

"Linna… Linna… Speak to me… please!" Priss beckoned hysterically, ignoring the other screaming voice in her helmet.

"Priss! Damnit, what the hell is going on?" Sylia's only response was a few quiet sobs over the com system, but even they stopped after a few moments. "Nene! Nene!"

"Wha… What happened?" the teenager weakly asked, rolling over and getting up off the floor. She looked up in response to Sylia's cries in her head.

"Nene! Where's Linna? What's going on up there?"

Nene could see just enough through the smoky room to make out two upright figures… a blue hardsuit supporting a green one. "Priss… she did it! She saved Linna from the boomer!"

"Nene, her vitals aren't good. What's wrong with Linna?"

Nene checked the scans through her hardsuit. Although not conclusive, something didn't look right. "I can't get a good reading from here… hold on a sec… Priss! What happened to Linna?" Nene asked while starting to run over to the two Knight Sabers. She stumbled slightly while still trying to shake out the cobwebs from getting slammed into the charging Priss earlier. Regaining her footing, Nene continued on until the floor jerked underneath her.

"Nene, what the hell was that!" Sylia cried out.

An explosion rocked the back of the office as the startled red saber tried to spot the source of the disturbance. "The boomer! It's not dead yet!" she asked, now advancing more cautiously. "Priss why didn't you… oh no…" Nene stopped dead in her tracks at the gristly sight before her… it was more than she was prepared to take in. A small but growing red puddle lay underneath Linna's body… blood dripping from the ragged, caved in midsection of her hardsuit. Linna's arms lay lifelessly by her side, full weight bore by Priss' trembling armored arms encircled around her. The green and orange helmet looked slightly dented on top with visible cracks growing from a few fractures on the sides.

"LINNA! Sylia, Linna's hurt bad. Oh my God! Priss! What happened! PRISS! Answer me!" Nene received no response from the blue saber. Her arms appeared locked in a death grip, unwilling to let Linna go. Another explosion marked the boomer's progress in the distance as Sylia's voice screamed into Nene's ears.

"Nene! Get Linna out of there now! Do whatever it takes!"

A weak voice cracked through the insanity around the burning office building… "uhhnnn… my head… my stomach… feels like… "

"LINNA! Thank God!" Priss finally broke out of the trance as the green saber flexed her arms and began to return the embrace. The sudden jerking motion of her body attempting to double over caught Priss off guard.

Linna pulled out of the grip she was in and collapsed in a heap on the carpeted floor. Her hands reflexively covered up the disfigured section of armor as a stark realization of pain shot through the mental fog. "Oh God!… Shit!… Hurts!… Priss… help!"

"Linna! Hold on!" Priss cried out as picked Linna up carefully, sliding one arm underneath her legs and lifting her body off the floor.

The boomer chose that particular moment to make its ill-timed reappearance in their section of the office.

"Nene! Take Linna back to the pit now," Priss ordered as the burning fury of revenge invaded her soul. She lowered the green figure into Nene's waiting arms gingerly, then turned towards the advancing monstrosity and flexed her arms in preparation. "Payback time bitch!" the blue cladded Knight seethed.

"Sylia, I'm inbound now," Nene announced, carefully manipulating Linna's shaking body out the window towards the mobile pit.

"Thank God! Its about time," Sylia added, relieved that Linna was finally being pulled out of immediate danger.

The heavily mutated boomer lumbered through the wrecked remains of the office space, core programming wiped past the point of recognition. It was no longer able to analyze for the threatening vigilante lurking off to the side.

Priss didn't particularly care about the boomers problems at the moment. The only image in her mind was of the beast holding the battered green hardsuit like a trophy in front of her. Rage ripped through the office walls as she attacked the former accounting assistant with a vengeance. The contest that ensued wasn't a fight… it was a bloodbath.

Priss flew into the crew compartment of the mobile pit still wearing her hardsuit. "How is she?" the concerned singer asked taking off her helmet and tossing it to the floor.

"I'm not sure. Linna hasn't said anything since Nene brought her in here. I'm not a doctor, but I know she needs help that we can't give her here," Sylia replied worriedly. Linna was lying in a reclining chair still in her hardsuit with Sylia and Nene (also still suited up) hovering over her. A first aid kit was opened on the floor next to the chair, turned over on its side with contents spilled out in disarray. "We've got to get her hardsuit off first," Sylia announced.

Nene gently pulled her cracked helmet off first, first revealing tear soaked cheeks. Nene gasped in anxiety as sweat beads were practically raining off of her forehead. Her glassy eyes didn't react at all to the change in lighting from having the helmet removed. "My God, she must be burning up."

Still holding her bloodied midsection, Linna's body began to shiver straight through the hardsuit.

"Linna… Linna we have to stand you up to get the hardsuit off," Sylia said trying to calm the newest Knight Saber as soothingly as she could given the deteriorating circumstances. Her eyes remained frozen, staring through the side of the mobile pit.

"I think its shock," Nene explained as Sylia and Priss turned to her. "Or at least it looks like shock from what I learned at our first aid course at the ADP."

"Nene, see if you can get help for Linna while Priss and I get her out of the hardsuit."

"Ok," she agreed waveringly, not sure if she should stay and help her fallen friend now or go to the computer terminal to carry out the plan they had discussed just before Priss had come in the compartment.

"It's alright Nene," Sylia reassured her. "Teamwork is the fastest way to get Linna through this. I need you to arrange for help now so it will be ready when we get her out of the suit." She followed Nene over to the computer for a moment while Priss edged closer to Linna.

Leaning down with arms once again circling her shoulders, Priss lowered her lips to Linna's ear. She whispered in a voice low enough not to be heard by either Sylia or Nene… "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen… not from my hands… please forgive me…" A tear fell off her chin and onto a green armored shoulder. Wiping the tears away and composing her appearance, Priss raised her voice back up and spoke to Linna again. "Come on…lets get you out of that suit." Gently lifting her still unresponsive form, Priss stood Linna up as Sylia approached the now standing green suit.

"I can manually release the suit's seals, but she's still going to need help getting out in the state she's in right now."

"I've got her. Just do it," Priss replied sternly.

Sylia started to feel for the internal latches inside Linna's suit, but stopped at the sight of Priss' right hand. Splattered with blood and mixed with small pieces of gray and green armor, questions flashed into Sylia's mind momentarily. However, she pushed them to the background as assisting Linna took precedence. As soon as Linna's safe… Sylia planned to herself, mentally noting to find out just what had happened as soon as she could. She reached into the top of Linna's suit as Priss continued to hold Linna upright.

Staring into her dilated eyes, Priss began to encourage the shaking woman. "Linna, hang in there. I know you can hear me. We're going to get you help."

Linna's eyes fluttered in response to her voice.

"That's it! Don't quit on me Linna, you can do it! Just hang in there a little longer." The suit's latch finally released freeing the front of the armor to swing open… with Linna still attached.

A blood-curtailing scream filled the inside of the mobile pit. "PRISS!" Sylia shouted.

"I said I've got her!" she screamed back, shifting her arms around Linna's exposed upper body and gingerly pulling her out of the suit.

"Careful of her stomach!"

"I know that!" The blue hardsuited woman lifted Linna up into her arms and cradled her shaking body. The screaming stopped as Linna closed her eyes, still whimpering in pain… tears streaking down her face.

Priss once again began to speak softly to Linna, trying her best to add some comfort to the overwhelming anguish in her own heart. She looked down the area Linna continued to cover with her now bare hands. A surprisingly little amount of actual damage greeted her eyes compared to what Priss imagined her midsection to look like after the knucklebomb had gone off. Maybe it's not that bad… A heavy groan from the woman in her arms gave a decidedly different impression however. "Where are we bringing her?"

"Nene, are you ready?" Sylia asked in response to Priss' question.

"I've put in the emergency notice so the ambulance should be at Hugh Geit in a couple of minutes."

"What's going on?" Priss questioned defensively.

"Set her down on the chair so we can get her softsuit off."

"What!"

"We don't have time to argue about this Priss," Sylia shot back. "Linna needs medical attention that we can't give her. The softsuit will raise more than a couple of questions about who she is, especially around a boomer incident. If any connection is made between her and the Knight Sabers before she gets that attention, you and I both know that the ADP will probably shoot first and let medial services be rendered later."

The threat appeared to work as Priss lowered the still shaking form back into the chair. Sylia reached down on the floor and picked up two pairs of scissors from the emptied first aid kit. Nene began to work on dressing Linna's wounds temporarily as Sylia handed one pair of scissors over to Priss. She looked at the offering hesitantly as Linna's agonized groans drowned out the silence.

Looking down at Linna's tortured expression, Priss stood up with new resolve and stepped back from the chair "Just a sec," she said springing her suit's locks and hurriedly stepping out. Priss ran back over to the opposite side of Linna and took the pair of scissors from Sylia. She leaned over to Linna's ear again and stroked her hair with a free hand. "We've got to get your softsuit off so we can get you some help." Linna didn't immediately respond to Priss' voice, so she continued to try and comfort her friend as soothingly as she could.

Sylia watched in fascination at the overtones in Priss' words. In all the time I've known her, I've never seen her act this way towards anyone. Reality sank back in as a sense of panic returned to her thoughts. "Alright Priss, lets hurry up so we can get Linna out of here." The two women worked quickly as Nene watched over, waiting in the wings after applying temporary patches to the gouges below Linna's abdomen. The injuries weren't numerous, but the few she did have appeared to be deep.

Sylia explained the plan that she and Nene had come up with before Priss had arrived. "A wounded employee of Hugh Geit will be much easier to explain than an injured softsuited woman wondering the streets around a boomer incident."

"We're just going to leave her in front of Hugh Geit, without a shred of clothing on!" Priss exclaimed, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

"Nene's already scoped out the site on the computer and has it covered," Sylia explained as she continued to remove parts of Linna's softsuit.

"I'll wait until I see the emergency crews and attract their attention towards Linna's hiding spot," Nene added somewhat optimistically, although her body language seemed to tell a different story.

"And this is the best you could come up with? You never planned on us getting hurt out here and needing medical attention?" Priss shot out accusingly.

"I normally have contingency plans, but this boomer didn't appear to warrant them," Sylia retorted with a bit of an accusatory tone in her voice as well. "Now if you're done, can we get Linna out of the softsuit? We can finish this discussion later." The snipping motion of scissors on fabric answered her question. Once the softsuit was completely removed, Nene cradled the naked woman with her hardsuit and left to bring her the couple of blocks from their quiet alley parking space to the Hugh Geit building.

_To be continued…_


	3. Ch 3: Counting the Cost

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 3 – Counting the Cost

* * *

Sylia shut the door to the mobile pit and turned towards the computer console. Walking over to begin tracking Nene, she passed the opened hardsuit belonging to Priss. Her eyes drifted down to the discolored right arm… fresh questions erupted in her mind once more. _I'll check on Linna in a minute; first I want some answers> _she decided inwardly. She spun around to face Priss, who had slumped down into a chair. Priss leaned forward covering her face with her hands… elbows resting on her knees. 

"I don't suppose you'd like to explain what happened up there?" Sylia interrogated. Silence was her only answer. "Alright then, but your suit's recorder will speak if your not willing to."

"Why did you tell me to hold back?" the singer growled through her hands. Sylia stepped back slightly from the sharp question. "I could've mopped up that boomer in less than ten seconds by myself," she said standing up from the chair with a new fire brewing in her eyes.

"Priss, that boomer wasn't even a threat to Nene!" Sylia countered. "None of you were in any real danger. In fact, I don't think Linna was hurt by the boomer at all." Sylia punctuated the accusatory tone of her statement with a stare directly at Priss' right knucklebomb.

Priss looked at Sylia and then over to her hardsuit. She started to voice out a reply, but got cut off by a hailstorm of accusations from the Knight Sabers leader.

"You didn't think she could get hurt that badly with a direct shot from a knucklebomb? What were you thinking!"

"What are you talking about!"

"Why Priss? Were you jealous? Afraid Linna would surpass you?"

"Shut the hell up!" Priss fired out, fists turning white, teeth clinched in fury. "It was an accident! I didn't mean for… she wasn't…" Her hands released and began shaking as she fell back into the chair, holding her head. Tears streamed down from her eyes as recollections flooded her mind.

Sylia stood frozen at the sight of her strongest warrior breaking down in front of her. This was not the reaction she was expecting.

"The boomer grabbed Linna when she was distracted. I tried to attack it but Nene got in my way. After that, all I could hear was Linna screaming over the com channel. I couldn't see what the damn thing was doing to her! I ran in to get a quick kill and then… then…"

"What happened?" Sylia asked, concern replacing accusation.

"I…I don't know," Priss' frustrated voice cracked audibly. "I thought the boomer had just turned its body to face me, but, it must have pulled Linna around through the smoke. When I swung at the boomer, my arm stopped sooner than I expected. That's when I opened my eyes and saw…"

"What do you mean 'opened my eyes'?" Sylia interrupted.

"I guess… I guess I was so damned determined to kill that thing that I must have closed my eyes when I clenched my arm back."

"So you didn't really see what happened." It was more of a statement than a question.

"No…I just remember opening my eyes after Linna's groan because of my… of my…" She couldn't continue as the protective shell shattered around her from the full realization of what had just happened.

Sylia moved over to the fallen Knight and placed her hands on Priss' shoulders in an attempt to reassure her.

"Get off me!" Priss yelled.

"Priss, I know…"

"Just stop it Sylia! I almost…I might have killed Linna tonight," she corrected. "Just leave me alone."

"Priss, I'm sure Linna's going to be OK." She didn't receive a response. Priss had withdrawn back into her shell.

Sylia stepped back from her giving some distance. Looking at the failed expression on her face brought painfully familiar memories to the Knight Sabers' leader, almost as if looking into a mirror from years past. The pain will fade with time, but it will always weigh on you heart. Sylia wanted desperately to vocalize her feelings, her experiences, to Priss. But, she knew that Priss wasn't ready yet.

Turning back towards the computer console with heavy thoughts on her mind, she began to monitor Nene's progress. Sylia had questions on just how her newest recruit would handle the physical attack. Also was the question of how Linna would respond to the realization that Priss delivered that blow. Sylia had a strange feeling that issue would work itself out naturally. However, the bigger question was would Priss ever be ready to face it, or would Sylia need to find yet another replacement for the Knight Sabers?

* * *

Nene fidgeted with her fingers through her hardsuit as Linna lay unconscious on the ground just beside a wall of the Hugh Geit building. She began talking to herself as the wait grated on her nerves. "What are we doing! I should've just flown into the hospital in my suit and dropped Linna off at the front door!". 

"Nene, you know what would happen if we brought Linna to the hospital in full armor. If we were seen without the green hardsuit after that…"

"Sylia! I didn't know you were listening… I know… I know... It's not like we moonlight as an ambulance service. It's just… she looks so helpless out there right now." Waiting in the bushes concealed from sight, the teenager cursed as the seconds ticked away. "What the hell is taking those idiots so long! I put the tip in the system so even a boomer could find her!"

"We'll give them another minute, and then…"

"Wait! I hear something." Nene interrupted excitedly. The sound of footsteps rounding the corner of the cube shaped building brought a wave of relief over the young Saber. "Thank God! The emergency crews are here." Looking back over at Linna's naked form, she couldn't help but feel guilty.. If only she had changed in the mobile pit and not at Sylia's place… this is just so wrong!

"Look, over there!" an emergency tech yelled as he spotted a body lying next to a wall of the building. He quickly ran over to check on the fallen woman. "She looks like the one we're supposed to be looking for. Hey lady… can you hear me?" With no audible response, he began to examine the victim.

"Damn! What the hell happened to her… and what happened to her clothes?" A much younger tech joined the first as the two male workers began to treat the naked woman.

"She's unconscious. Breathing normal."

"Pulse is weak but steady," the younger one added.

"The bleeding from the abdomen wound isn't bad… looks like it went internal though… whatever caused it," the older man said flatly.

"Hey at least we don't have to rip any clothing to examine her."

"Yeah tell me about it! What a waste!" the older one commented as he began to treat the puncture wounds in the woman's midsection. "I think she's gonna be OK."

"Hey, you think I could ask her out after she gets out of the hospital?"

"Let's just get her there first."

"Hey! What was that!" the young tech yelled as a red flash streaked towards the sky out of the bushes.

"What? I didn't see anything," the veteran countered, intent on the work at hand.

"Your eyes were glued on her, weren't they?" the green tech suggested.

"Your full of it! How many women have I treated like this before! Too many to count… that's how many! Now let's hurry up… this place gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, anyplace that helps build those boomers freaks me out!"

The techs continued to work diligently as the sounds of approaching sirens filled the night sky around them.

* * *

Nene dragged down the hallway towards the private lounge in the Lady 633 building. Rounding the last corner before reaching her destination, she collided with another similarly exhausted zombie. "Hey!" she yelled as they both fell to the floor with a thud. 

"Sorry… Nene…" Mackie said apologetically, face turning crimson at the sight of the sprawling blond girl on the floor.

Nene picked herself off the ground, briefly yawning despite the sudden excitement. " 's ok mackie" she slurred, too tired to even correct his manners at the moment. She circled around the other teenager and lumbered into the lounge.

Hauling himself up, Mackie let out a deep yawn of his own as tired eyes fought to stay open. Suddenly a light clicked on in his head as he spun around and practically ran into the lounge after her. "Nene, any word on Linna?" he called from across the room at the exhausted form now spread out on the couch.

"…uhhh, yeah. Wake me when Syl' comes in 'n I'll tell you both," she whispered weakly.

"So that means it's good news, right?" Silence answered his question for a few moments before a soft snore filtered across the room. "Nene?" he called out, not entirely surprised by her rather sudden collapse. He looked up at a clock on the wall. "I guess it has been over five hours since she was admitted."

Mackie cautiously crept over to where Nene was peacefully resting. Studying her face, he noticed dark circles that had grown considerably since she first ran into the computer room earlier in the evening. Those events replayed themselves in his mind…

Over at Nigel's place, he heard the call for the Knight Sabers to assemble over his self-repaired communications system. After asking if Sylia needed any help, she had told him it wouldn't be necessary this time. "It's just one office boomer. We'll be OK. Try and catch up on that work you were telling me about instead," she had suggested to him.

So Mackie had walked over to the Lady 633 building. On the way over, he reminded himself to check on the battle. But, by the time he walked into the computer room he had forgotten about the boomer entirely. He was preoccupied with planning the work on some computer files instead for some reason… he couldn't place exactly why it seemed so important though. After becoming lost in those files, and losing some indistinguishable amount of time along with them, Nene burst into the computer room screaming at him.

"Move it! Off the computer NOW Mackie!" The overstressed tone pulsing through the teenager's voice didn't go unnoticed.

He had fallen backwards out of the chair trying to get out of her way. "What's wrong Nene… um I mean Miss…"

"Linna's hurt bad and in the hospital! If you'd check for messages more often, you'd know that already!" Nene jumped over him and into the chair. Her fingers blurred almost faster than sight as computer files flew past the monitor in front of her.

Mackie just stared up at the blond hacker for a long while, trying to sort out everything she had told him. In the end, he decided the accusation was just Nene's way of dealing with her feelings… not unlike Sylia sometimes. The similarity had played on his mind for a time. He watched wordlessly for hours it seemed as Nene had cracked into hospital databases and pulled out information on Linna's condition.

A twitch of Nene's finger brought Mackie back to the present. He blushed furiously again as realization of the situation took hold. He noticed Nene's finger because he was holding her hand. While recalling the night's events he had sat on the floor next to Nene and unconsciously reached for her hand. Mackie found that he couldn't pull away. The warmth of her touch felt electric to him. The sensation was unlike any he had experienced before as curiosity won out over modesty. His eyelids grew heavy as exhaustion eventually conquered all a few minutes later.

The door silently slid open to a robed woman who entered the room. She smiled lightly at the serene scene by the couch. Deciding not to disturb their much-needed rest, Sylia left the two teenagers alone and headed back through the door to catch up on her own sleep.

I wonder how Priss is holding up? she wondered silently to herself. Priss had simply collapsed across from Linna's mangled hardsuit in the pit after they had it unloaded from the truck. Sylia found her in that same spot two hours later when trying to give her an update on Linna's condition. Priss didn't react at all to the news that Linna was out of surgery. It was as if Sylia was talking to a shadow.

She now found herself at the door to the pit once again. So much for sleep. Opening the door, a familiar scene troubled her once more. A softsuited woman sat on the floor, back against the wall, her head buried in folded up legs. Conflicting emotions pulled at the Knight Sabers leader. What can I do? Somehow Sylia could tell that Priss was sleeping. The most obvious sign was the tension she could practically feel herself in each of Priss' slow breaths. She was dreaming… and from all outward appearances, her dreams were anything but pleasant.

* * *

The night opened up to Priss again, and dread crept into her soul. Not again… it can't happen again! Around her were several members of her old biker gang. The familiar ruins of the city rose up like giants all around them, casting eternal shadows from the surrounding city lights. Voices echoed out from behind a nearby crumbling wall. 

A lone figure emerged and pointed directly at Priss. "There's the bitch that took out Mitsu!" More dark figures crawled out from the wall to join with the first.

"Looks like they're back for more, eh?" one of Priss' gang challenged back.

No, not this time… not like this! Priss couldn't find the voice to her fears. It was as if she was not just watching a movie of the past, but a part of it, unable to stop the inevitable from happening.

"He's got a gun!"

Not again!

A single shot rang out from the wall as Priss hit the ground hard, breath momentarily leaving her body from the impact.

_To be continued…_


	4. Ch 4: Dreams of a Salvage Operation

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 4 – Dreams of a Salvage Operation

* * *

"Unnngh!" The grunt was exactly as Priss remembered it from her past. Looking up at the body lying over the top of her, she could see His face again.

"Why? Why didn't you save yourself instead? The shot would've probably hit me in the shoulder. You could've lived dammit!" The words finally flooded out as she rolled over, cradling Him in her arms. Darkness and silence surrounded them both as Priss watched his chest heave in its last few breaths once again, tears streaming down onto his bloody shirt. Priss closed her eyes to try and block out the painful memories.

"Priss, why do you hate the AD Police so much?" a much different, older masculine voice spoke to her now. It was distinctly familiar, although it didn't seem to belong with this memory for some reason.

"What?" She opened her eyes to the sight of Leon lying across her lap, bullet wound in the heart. "Leon! Why?"

"Can't you grant a dying man one last wish?"

Priss felt herself drawn into the fallen ADP officer as he pulled her down for one last (or was it first) kiss. Her head swirled in the altering confusion of her thoughts. The comforting feeling of shared closeness warmed over her entire body from the embrace. Pulling away nearly breathless, a feminine voice shocked her anew.

"Why pick me Priss…"

Linna! I kissed Linna!

"…why pick me to join the Knight Sabers…only to kill me!" Linna's face was full of accusations as Priss held her dying teammate, now in hardsuit, sans helmet. Blood ran out of several gaping holes in her armor, exactly where Priss' knucklebomb had impacted the gray and green suit. Priss held up her right hand in disbelief. The blue-gray fist was nearly unrecognizable under the red coating it was now covered in. Linna's body suddenly convulsed twice wildly as her eyes fluttered within deathly throes of agony.

"Linna! No! Don't give up on me! No, God please don't die… You can't die like Katsuro!"

Despite her pleas, Linna's body fell still, eyelids still open, staring up into the infinite darkness…

"LINNNNAAAA!"

"PRISS…PRISS… come on! Wake up dammit!"

Her eyes opened like a shot, Sylia's distraught face just inches away from her own. "Li… Li… Linna… Oh my God…" Priss heaved ragged breaths through her sweat-drenched softsuit.

"Priss, its okay… you were just dreaming."

Her vision gradually adjusted to the light of the pit. The fuzzy shapes just beyond Sylia's unmistakable face began to take form, much to Priss' bitter recollection. She could plainly see that the Knight Sabers' leader was wrong… it wasn't just a dream. Linna's bloodied hardsuit hung like an albatross from the maintenance hooks. Where exhaustion had brought weary rest before, panic took over in the extreme. She shoved Sylia off to the side and tore out of the pit, running for the change room as fast as her feet would move. "Priss…wait!" she heard Sylia's voice faintly cry out as the door to the pit slid shut behind her.

* * *

A few hours of sleepless rest later, Sylia approached the lounge again. Priss had disappeared after running out of the pit. All attempts to contact her weren't working… not that Sylia expected her to respond yet anyway. She knew that the longer Priss dwelled on the guilt though, the harder it would be to overcome. Her thoughts shifted once she reached the door to the lounge. Time to think happier thoughts for a few minutes anyway she encouraged herself as the door opened for her to enter.

Daylight was beginning to filter through the windows, but the two occupants to the room hadn't noticed. Sylia crossed the room to the still sleeping Mackie and Nene, a genuine smile forming on her face for the first time this morning. She first quietly roused Mackie who still had a hold on Nene's hand. Waking Nene first had crossed her mind, but causing trouble just for fun's sake wasn't on her list of priorities this morning. The temptation to see her reaction to Mackie was intriguing, but perhaps another time and place.

"Huh, What? Oh… Syliaaaaa" Mackie woke with a yawn. Nene said you'd be in to talk about Linna.

"Yes, but that was about three hours ago."

"Three hours!"

Mackie's voice stirred the blond haired girl as she rolled over to face the cushion, snuggled into the arm of the couch, and fell back asleep.

"Seems as if we'll have to try harder if we want to get her up. What do you suggest?" Sylia turned with a smile to face Mackie.

"How about a hot cup of cocoa? She likes that a lot."

"Excellent suggestion. Go find Henderson and have him prepare some. He should be in the kitchen now preparing breakfast."

"Alright, be right back." Mackie left the lounge, leaving Sylia to watch over the still sleeping girl. A few minutes later Mackie returned with Henderson in tow. "Cocoa's ready."

"Good. Now let's see if we can get our fine ADP representative up today." Sylia looked over at Mackie and nodded.

"Who me?" She nodded again reassuringly. Mackie stood still for a minute, contemplating what to try. Finally deciding on a course of action, he picked up a cup of cocoa from the tray and walked carefully over to the head of the couch. Leaning down close to Nene, he lowered the cocoa close enough to her face to cause her to begin to stir.

Nene's breathing quickened in response to the aroma enveloping her senses. "Hmmm… cocoa…" she whispered dreamily.

"Nene… Nene… its morning," Mackie spoke softly into her ear.

The teenager suddenly drew up her arms to stretch, catching the cup of cocoa with an arm, spilling the hot contents directly onto Mackie's clothes.

"Ah. Ah..ah.. Owwwww!" he shouted, jumping wildly away from the couch as he held his shirt away from the skin, trying to keep from getting burned.

Sylia covered her face with one hand and just shook her head. "Even the best laid plans…" she commented dejectedly.

"What the… Mackie! Sylia!" Nene shouted as she sat up on the couch, obviously wide-awake now.

"Sorry Nene," Sylia apologized, "we were just trying to give you a good send off this morning after all the help you gave us last night."

"Mackie, what happened?"

"Oh, nothing Nene… I mean Miss Nene! Excuse me, but I've got to go change," he spat out nervously while running out the door.

"What a strange boy," Nene commented, staring at the now closed door.

"Would you like some hot cocoa Miss Nene?" Henderson asked.

"Yes, thank you," she replied stretching out the kinks from sleeping on the couch.

"Well now that you're up, care to update me on Linna?" Sylia asked.

Nene took the cup of cocoa from Henderson and gently held it between her hands. Pulling her thoughts together, she mentally reviewed the data she had retrieved from the hospital's computer system. "The last update I was able to get said she was out of surgery and being placed in a recovery room."

"Any news on the extent of her injuries?"

"Not much more than we knew before. The doctors think she had a pretty serious concussion, although they were able to confirm no spinal injuries. We were pretty dumb for moving her around like that."

"We didn't have much of a choice. Do you really think the ADP would have checked her injuries out carefully knowing she was a Knight Saber, or do you think they would have shot first and asked questions later?"

Nene looked down into her cocoa and sulked. She knew the risks involved, but the reality of the situation wasn't making things any easier. The fact that she worked along side of many of the very people who carried that 'shoot first' mentality made it even worse. "I suppose not."

"How about the injuries to her abdomen?"

"Still no new news there. They logged two hours of surgery time, but the computer files weren't specific on what they found or had to do. Also, after the surgery, her status was listed as stable."

"That's good news indeed."

Nene sipped from the cup in her hands as she looked down in thought once more. "I'm going to try and visit her after I get out of work this evening," she said, lifting up her head to look into Sylia's eyes almost as if asking for approval.

"I'm sure that would help to lift her spirits up some if she's awake by then."

"That's what I was thinking. So, when are you going to visit her?" Nene asked innocently.

The question surprised Sylia a bit as she thought about her response. "I'm not planning on visiting her myself," she spoke, breaking eye contact and looking down into her own cup of cocoa. "I don't think that would be a very wise decision."

"Why? You just said that…"

"I know what I said. But, as leader of the Knight Sabers, it's not good for me to be seen around all of you outside of the shop."  
"But Sylia, Linna doesn't have any other friends in Tokyo!"

"I know… and I'll see that she gets other visitors."

"You mean Priss, don't you."

Sylia recalled the nightmarish turn of events in the pit a few hours previous. "Yes. But, I think Priss may need the support more than Linna at this point."

"Why? I know she was taking it awfully hard, but it's not that bad, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is." Sylia explained about Priss running out a few hours previous, intentionally leaving out the exact reasons for her actions.

"But why run away like that?" Nene interrogated intently.

"I'm not sure," Sylia said untruthfully. Sylia was pretty sure she knew why Priss had run off, although she was sure there was more to the story than she was aware of. Also, she had her reasons for keeping secrets from Nene… the least of which was her tendency to meddle in affairs she had no business being involved with.

Nene looked up at the clock and nearly threw her cocoa on Sylia in shock. "OhmyGod! I've only got thirty minutes to be into work! I'll never make it home in time to change!"

"Relax… I had Henderson prepare your spare work uniform already. It's hanging in the guest room on this floor."

Nene was already off the couch and running for the door. "Thanks!"

"You might want to know that I raised your skirt up a few inches though."

Nene stopped dead in her tracks and turned with a crimson face towards the innocent looking owner of the Silky Doll. "What did you do!"

Sylia broke into a giggle, covering her mouth with one hand. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Your skirt is fine. You should know by now that I wouldn't make any alterations without asking you first."

Nene gave out a sigh and continued on to the door. "It's too early in the morning for that Sylia."

"Nene…" Sylia called out just as the door opened to let the teenager out to the hallway. "…thanks for helping last night."

"No problem!" the blond haired girl called out. "I'll keep you up to date if I find anything else out at work today," she added before the door closed to leave Sylia alone with her thoughts.

Those thoughts turned over in her mind as she planned her course of action for the day. The things she needed to do were plenty, but the highest priority remained the same… to try and salvage what was left of the Knight Sabers before current events took off into the dark realms of underground Tokyo.

* * *

Nene walked into the visitors lobby of the Kanto Memorial Hospital holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand. Signing in at the reception desk, she checked on the room number to make sure Linna hadn't moved in the last thirty minutes. Nene had spent most of her day at work inside the hospital computer system and keeping Sylia updated. She had even managed to get out early so she could have time to visit Linna, as visiting hours only lasted until 5:30 for non-relatives. Looking at her watch, Nene noted she only had thirty minutes left as it was.

Scurrying to an elevator, she hurriedly searched through the recovery wing, managing to find Linna's room in only five minutes. Good thing they keep the online virtual map updated she thought to herself. Nene knocked on the door and listened. Getting no response she knocked again, leaning her ear against the door. Nene sighed with resignation and looked down at the flowers. "I might as well put you in her room at least, even if she isn't awake yet," she told the unresponsive vegetation.

Cracking the door open, she peeked her head through the opening and looked around. The dimmed lighting revealed a still form lying in the bed nearest the door. Even though her brown hair more closely resembled the head of a mop, Nene instantly recognized Linna. A dividing curtain was open showing an empty bed on the far side of the room next to the window.

Nene approached Linna, careful not to disturb her rest. Her face was ghostly white with accentuating dark circles under her eyes. The sheet of the bed was drawn up just below her neck, tucked in under both arms. An IV was slowly dripping into one of her arms, the other situated with monitoring equipment quietly displaying vitals next to the bed. Her chest was barely moving, giving the impression of lifelessness throughout the room.

Nene brushed a stray lock of hair from Linna's face and gently stroked her pale cheek with her free hand. "I hope your going to be OK," she said softly, a stray tear rolling down her face.

"priss…" The voice was so weak Nene thought it was just her imagination at first. "priss… is that you?"

"Linna? Linna! Your awake!" Nene yelled, throwing her arms around the rousing woman. Nene heard a soft crunch off the side of the bed as she leaned over to hug Linna. "Ooops! Eh.."

"nene?"

"Yes?"

"i… can't… breathe…"

"OhmyGod!… Sorry Linna!" she frantically apologized pulling away immediately.

"thank you" Linna whispered weakly.

Nene leaned down and picked up the now crumpled flowers from under her feet. "Um…here. These were supposed to be for you," she apologized again, handing them to Linna.

Linna held the flowers in her hand as her arm rested across her chest, too weak to lift them to her face at the moment.

"Sorry. Let's see if I can find a vase to put these in," Nene suggested. After pulling a vase from under the sink and placing the flowers into them, she heard Linna whisper again.

"nene, where am I? a hospital?"

"Yeah. You're at Kanto Memorial… you don't remember coming here?"

"no. what happened? my stomach feels like a construction boomer jumped up and down on me."

"Do you remember fighting the boomer?"

"which one?"

"I think it was the office boomer from your work."

"how did you know that?"

"You told us that just before it attacked you."

"it attacked me, my accounting boomer… attacked me?"

"How's you head?"

"you mean the splitting migraine?"

"The initial reports said you likely had a concussion. That explains why you can't remember what happened."

"but… Priss was there with me."

"Um, yeah. What do you remember about Priss being there?"

"only her voice. she was… she kept saying she was sorry… and… i remember her telling me not to give up."

"That was in the mobile pit." Nene added, trying to help Linna put the pieces of her memory back together.

"nene, what happened? why was Priss apologizing?"

"I… I don't really know. It all happened so fast… I'm not sure."

The hospital announcing system woke up with an automatic notification. "Normal visiting hours are now over for non-relatives of our guests at Kanto Memorial Hospital. If you do not have a pass identifying yourself as a relative, please proceed to the reception area to sign out at this time. We thank you for your cooperation in keeping Kanto Memorial the most open and accessible hospital in all of MegaTokyo."

"Jeez, if they're so 'accessible', then why am I getting kicked out after ten minutes!" Nene angrily yelled at the overhead speaker in the room. "It's not even 5:30 yet? What's…"

"Nene!" Linna finally interrupted, some strength finally returning to her voice.

"Yes Linna?"

"Bring Priss next time… please?"

"Linna…" Nene started, not sure just how to tell her about Priss' actions of late. "… I don't know if I can."

"Why?"

"I… well… we don't know where she is. Priss ran off this morning in a hurry… we haven't heard from her since."

"That doesn't sound too unusual for her?"

"Yeah, but Sylia seemed to think it was different this time… I wish I knew why."

Linna's foggy memory produced more voices from Priss… begging with her not to give up, soothing her almost motherly, saying she was sorry for… for… something. That part of her mind was still locked away in the cloudy portions of whatever had happened during the boomer incident. "Find her Nene… for me… Please!"

The pleading look in Linna's face was heartbreaking for the teenager. "I… I'll try my best. Promise!" she emphasized, squeezing Linna's hand reassuringly. "Get some rest and I'll be back as soon as I can tomorrow."

"Nene… thanks," Linna smiled weakly, a lone tear rolling down her face.

"Bye Linna!" Nene cried out as she closed the door to the room. Walking briskly down the hallway, tears also flowed from the blond girl's eyes as well. "Too short… Just too short." Resolving to find a way to get off work earlier the next day, she headed back towards the Lady 633 building. Maybe I could forge one of those IDs for me tomorrow. That probably wouldn't be to tough to do, and I could stay for as long as I want that way. With the matter addressed, her thoughts turned back to Linna's request. She had to try and find Priss… and for that, she would definitely need Sylia's help.

Nene was lost in thought when a loud screaming voice broke her concentration in the hospital lobby. A loud crash was followed by the distinct sound of breaking plastic as Nene flew through the air in the opposite direction of thundering footsteps and a silver blur.

* * *

Watching Nigel and Mackie work on the hardsuits wasn't Sylia's idea of a good way to spend dinner. Mackie had flatly refused to eat as long as Nigel was working on the suits though, and she didn't feel like eating alone right now.

Nigel hadn't said much after hearing about Linna. He had, however, given Sylia a very reassuring hug. It was while recalling waiting for news from the hospital computer system via Nene that she completely broke down emotionally. Those events brought back even more distant, more painful memories for Sylia to deal with… more than she could handle. Nigel shared those memories with her. It was a part of their very complex relationship, the shared pain of past failures. That pain helped to keep them together.

Mackie stared at the bloody hardsuit as Nigel worked diligently on it. "Linna's lucky the armor is tougher than it looks." The sound of a turning wrench answered his comment. "Even though most of the midsection is caved in, there's only a couple of small holes through the suit."

"1/4" flat spanner Mackie."

"Right! Here you go Nigel." The experienced technician took the tool from the boy and continued to disassemble the remains of the green hardsuit while Mackie continued his analysis. "I never thought one office boomer could do that to one of the hardsuits. Sylia tensed up at the direction of Mackie's comments.

She hadn't told anyone about the true nature of the 'accident' yet. Recalling how Priss had run out early in the morning troubled her deeply. Add to that the fact she hadn't heard anything from the singer all day, and Sylia's concerns were getting more serious by the minute. Besides, to explain what had happened would mean facing the reality that Priss may never put on a hardsuit for her again. She wasn't ready to deal with that possibility just yet. Not with the dark possibilities looming in the depths of the quake destruction…

"Funny thing,…" Mackie continued on oblivious to Sylia's inner turmoil. "…that impression on Linna's suit resembles one of Priss knucklebomb attacks."

"Mackie! That's enough!"

"Sylia?" he questioned, unsure if he really heard what his ears were telling him.

"Mackie," Nigel intervened, "go grab some dinner. It's getting late."

"But the hardsuits…"

"… will be here later," Nigel finished for him.

Mackie looked over at Nigel and then at Sylia, shoulders sagging in resignation. "Alright, I'll go now," he replied standing up and walking out of the pit slowly.

Nigel stood up and walked over to put a hand over the discolored fist of the blue hardsuit. "You're wondering if she'll come back, aren't you?"

"Why would you think that?"

"No reason." Nigel walked back over to the green suit and continued to work on the repairs.

"If she doesn't deal with this soon, she won't come back," Sylia answered belatedly, finally caving in to the subtle pressure.

Nigel continued to work away giving the appearance of ignorance. Sylia knew better. "I guess I should have expected Priss to react the way she did. I wondered why she chose Linna to be a Knight Saber. She's always been more of a loner, so it seemed odd she would ask for another teammate."

"Could you hand me the ratchet please?"

Sylia complied with the request as she continued to work through her thoughts. "The way Linna always tried to emulate Priss, and when Priss didn't seem to mind so much… like she wanted the challenge… it was if they became more than just teammates…"

Just then the door of the pit burst open to an out of breath ADP officer. "Sylia… (pant)… Linna's… (pant)… awake… (pant)… wants… (pant)… Priss… (pant)… find… (pant)… her…. (pant)."

"Nene, relax!" You're not making any sense."

Catching her breath finally, Nene explained to Sylia just what had happened at the hospital.

"Why didn't you just call?"

"I was getting ready to when I got ran over by some pregnant woman in a freakin' wheelchair."

"A what?" Sylia stared at her in disbelief.

"Some guy was pushing the wheelchair screaming 'her water just broke!'. I must have been thinking about Linna because I didn't hear him until after he ran me over. When I got up, I found my communicator busted into a million pieces on the floor of the lobby!"

"You're not hurt?"

"No, just my pride mostly," Nene replied, rubbing a sore spot on her rear.

"Why didn't you just find another phone?"

"I don't know… I was just so mad at the guy that I forgot all about looking for some other way to call you until I got here."

Sylia seemed to take all the news in stride. "Well, at least you're here now. It's good that Linna's awake now. She really doesn't remember the attack though?"

"Not yet. The boomer must have really done a number on her head based on how bad her concussion is."

"Did you find anything else out about her internal injuries?"

"I didn't have time to ask anyone. They were kicking me out as soon as I got in the room practically. I should've faked some passes so I didn't have to leave so early." Nene's thoughts turned to Linna's request. "Are you going to try and find Priss?"

Sylia quickly realized that this was the chance she needed to try and pull the Knight Sabers back together again. The key to keeping Priss with the team lay in Kanto Memorial in room 221. She just had to get Priss there somehow. One issue that might ordinarily be a problem though was already addressed. Looking over at Nigel, then to Nene, she began to walk towards the exit to the pit… dinner would have to wait a little while longer. "I'll do better than that… I'll ask her to go see Linna right now."

"Great!" Nene said, before realizing just what Sylia meant. "Wait, you know where she is?" Sylia looked back and smiled a response to her. "Hold on… why did you tell me you didn't know where she ran off to this morning. You don't really know where she is, do you?"

Sylia had stopped for a minute at Nene's questioning. "I can find her anytime I need to… in an emergency." Sylia glanced over at Nigel, still working diligently on the hardsuit, and then back to Nene. "You don't need to concern yourself on how. By the way, could you make one of those fake ID's for Priss?"

"Um… sure. But… wait a minute." Nene looked over at Nigel, then at Sylia, wheels turning furiously in her mind. "If you don't know where Priss is… you put a tracker in her bike!"

Too smart for her own good sometimes Sylia thought to herself as she headed back out of the pit.

"When Priss finds out, she'll go nuts Sylia!"

"I guess I'll have to just take my chances on that, now won't I? Besides, would you rather I wait until she decides to come back? We might lose both Priss and Linna from the Knight Sabers if I don't do this right now."

Nene answered with silent resignation. As the door closed behind Sylia, a question popped into her mind… What does Priss leaving have to do with Linna not coming back anyway, and why does Linna want to see Priss so much? What happened in that office building? Nene looked over at the hardsuits as an idea formed in her brain. If I can't get an answer out of the people in the hardsuits… why not ask the hardsuits themselves…

_To be continued…._


	5. Ch 5: A Walk in the Park

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 5 – A Walk in the Park

* * *

Sitting on one end of a bench in the empty park, Priss' thoughts swirled ferociously through her mind. _Why come back to me now? It's been over a year… A YEAR since I've even thought about that night. What are you trying to tell me now?_

Raising her head out of her supporting hands, Priss gazed through the serene surroundings. She didn't see the expertly manicured trees or the pristine trails around the crystal blue lake. She didn't hear the chirping of the winged creatures living in those trees or the splashing of fish in the lake. Around her was the wasteland of her past… crumbled buildings echoing with cries of hunger and pain. To her they were scenes covered over by the façade of the present. That façade had somehow been shattered though… shattered by her own hand. She wasn't living in the present anymore. The past had caught back up with her. More to the point, He had come back to her…Katsuro… in that dream. "Why now?"

She closed her eyes and let the past retake its hold over her. The distinct scent of fresh blood came to her first. With it came a voice… "priss…listen to me… "

"Just shut up and rest dammit! We'll get help…"

"Help from (cough) who Priss?…"

"… (through tear filled eyes) Just shut up for once!…"

Her fallen lover placed one hand behind Priss' neck and gently caressed her throat with his thumb "…one last request?…"

"Don't talk like that!"

"…(cough) song… our song…"

"…no, NO! Your giving up! You can't quit on me, not now damn you!"

"priss… please…" His body shuddered in her arms momentarily, eyes fluttered before steadying out. "please?"

Priss looked into his eyes and opened her soul to him, emotions pouring out through her voice, carrying him into the afterlife on wings of sound. As the song replayed itself for her, the mental links began to fall into place… that song… the song from the CD… the first CD Katsuro had 'given' her when they first met… the same CD that the ADP had destroyed during a boomer incident… getting shot accidentally by the ADP… going to the hospital…. meeting a recovering drug addict at the hospital… finding out the former addict was a musician … Maxon was his name … that was the start of As Sekiria. After a Sekiria show getting into a fight with some police… then nearly running over Sylia Stingray while trying to get away… Sylia had brought her into the Knight Sabers. Through the Knight Sabers she had met Linna… and now Linna had nearly died in her arms… silently fading away as the fresh blood flowed from her body… just like Katsuro.

The memories flowed over her again as Priss found she was still sitting on the bench with her face buried in her hands again. Fresh tears ran down her arms as the pain of loss enveloped her anew.

"Linna isn't dead though, is she?" a masculine voice spoke in her mind. To Priss, it was as if Katsuro was sitting on the opposite end of the bench, arguing with her once again.

_Not because I didn't try._

"Aren't you being hard on yourself?"

_Is their any other way to deal with it?_

"I think you know of at least one"

_What are you trying to tell me?_

"You're here for a reason"

_What reason?_

"This place… it's the last place in your life that you knew someone loved you"

_My fans love me._

"You know what I mean"

_Do I?_

"Do you always insult the dead this way?"

_Only if I love them._

"My point exactly"

The voices quieted in her head as Priss stared at the ground. The leaves of the trees rustled softly in the evening breeze as Priss looked up into long shadows advancing across the lake towards her. A distant voice completed the transformation from past to present.

"Priss… Priss is that you?" Sylia's voice resonated from behind her… the same direction that her bike was parked. "'My, I never envisioned you as the kind to frequent such a quaint locale."

The only visible reaction Priss gave to Sylia's presence was to look up into the setting sun briefly before once again focusing on the crawling shapes cast by the dimming orange glow from the West.

"Mind if I join you?"

Priss continued to stare at the shadows, feigning indifference.

Sylia took Katsuro's place on the bench and looked Priss over. Considering the unkempt state she was normally in, Sylia was still alarmed by just how bad she looked. Sylia turned towards the lake and sighed inwardly at the thought of how hard this was going to be. "I just wanted to apologize for accusing you of intentionally hurting Linna. You did nothing to deserve that." A long pause settled between them.

"Is that it?" Priss asked flatly.

A flash of anger crossed Sylia's face the tone of her response. Settling down however, she answered calmly. "No, there was one other matter to discuss." She paused to organize her thoughts. "I'm not sure if you're up for it at the moment, but Linna could use some moral support."

"No."

"Priss…"

"Listen, she'd be better off if I stayed away from her," the singer cut Sylia off, continuing to look into the distant setting. "She wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for me."

"I don't think that's her opinion."

"How do you know!" Priss fired back, turning towards her sharply dressed counterpart.

"I can't say for sure, but from what she told Nene…"

"Nene saw her at the hospital?" Her anger evaporated as reality replaced speculation in her mind.

"Yes, she's regained consciousness now. She doesn't remember what happened though…"

"She doesn't remember… remember what I did?"

"No, and for that matter Nene still doesn't know."

Priss wasn't listening to Sylia anymore, she was lost in thought once again. _Should I tell her what happened? How can I tell her?_

Sylia could tell Priss was shaken up again. Good, now let's see if the hook works… "Her prognosis look good physically from what Nene could tell, but…" Sylia paused for the effect, successfully getting her attention once again.

"What?"

"She had a specific request," she said, looking directly into Priss' eyes. "She asked that you come visit her." Priss' face contorted wildly with the turmoil caused by the request. "You need to go see her Priss… if not for her sake then for yours."

"I… I can't."

"Priss, I know how hard it can be…" Sylia tried to support her emotionally wrecked Knight, before Priss once again shot down her attempt.

"No you don't! You don't have any idea… any idea what its like to hold someone you care about, someone that's been hurt because of you…." Priss looked down, losing herself in recent memories "…and because of that mistake, just watch them die." She looked up into the encroaching darkness, waiting for it to catch up with her.

"Priss, Linna's not…" Sylia started before the meaning of the words caught up to her. Sylia looked around at the unnatural surroundings, recalling what the area had become shortly after the quake. She remembered that the park they sat in was built as a symbol of the reconstruction efforts. Sylia put the pieces together as she spoke her thoughts out loud. "That someone died here, before the park was built."

Priss didn't as much as blink, her mind lost in the conflict between the past and present.

Sylia was dumbstruck with her discovery. She knew a little of Priss' past, but nothing that would have told her of this sort of pain. Mentally reviewing events of the past 24 hours, many of the questions seemed to point here for the answer. This park… the last place she expected the tracker in Priss' bike to lead her. _I really miscalculated this time._ Looking over at the reformed gang member, Sylia could see it wasn't helping matters for Priss to just sit and decay like this. She had to get up… get on with what mattered now. Shifting her tactics slightly, Sylia tried to break through the shell once more.

"Priss, what was is in the past is gone. You can't change it. Linna needs you now, in the present."

Sylia's words rolled off of Priss' mind nearly unnoticed. Another question came to her instead. "Why don't you go?"

"What?"

"I said, 'Why don't you go see her?' If she needs so much help, then why don't you go see her yourself."

"I never said…"

"You said 'from what she told Nene'. That tells me you haven't gone to see her either. Are you just being hypocritical or are you trying to get me to do your 'dirty work' for you again."

"So you consider seeing Linna at the hospital 'dirty work'!"

They stared at each other for a few tense moments before Sylia looked down in thought. Well, I knew it wouldn't be easy. "Priss, I have my reasons for not going to the hospital."

"Like what?"

Sylia realized she wasn't going to be able to get past the truth this time. Fooling Nene was one thing… trying to fool Priss wasn't going to work… not if she wanted her to go see Linna, or a chance to keep her in the group. Sylia stood up from the bench and crossed into the shadows, recalling events of her own past. "I tried to tell you that I know what its like… what its like to have someone you choose as a teammate get hurt because of your own mistakes."

Priss looked up at Sylia in surprise.

"The hospital Linna's at now was where they went after their 'accidents'."

"Sylia, I…" Priss began in an oddly apologetic tone.

"What? You're surprised that I have a similarly colorful past as yourself?" Sylia interrupted bitingly before falling back into the dark memories of her past. "My mistakes were bad enough. Letting them get harmed in the first place isn't what still hurts though. I let myself get so self absorbed in guilt that I wound up making the situation ten times worse for them as it was already."

"How? What does the hospital have to do with it?"

"After they were admitted, I never visited them. I took responsibility for their 'injuries', so I paid all the medical expenses and also for travel costs out of Tokyo, but…."

"You've never talked to them since, have you?"

"No, and I don't want to see that happen to you and Linna." Sylia stepped forwards out of the shadows and in front of Priss, giving a concerned look into her eyes. That was a mistake.

"Why do you care so much about what happens between me and Linna?" Priss rose off the bench while raising her voice in protest.

"Priss, all I…"

"All you really want is for me to put on your hardsuit again, isn't it?"

"Priss, this is a public place…" Sylia cautioned, looking around but finding the park still eerily clear of people. Perhaps Priss' mood stretched further than just around the park bench they were near.

Priss glared into Sylia's face hard enough to cause the other woman to look away obviously not restrained with formalities any more. She pressed Sylia for an answer. "Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong."

Sylia stared at the ground, frustrated with the fact she was backed into a corner with only one way out. "Fine. I won't lie about it Priss. I do want you back with the team. But that doesn't change the fact I'm still worried about what happens between you and Linna."

"Is it really any of your business?"

"If it affects the ability of the Knight Sabers to function, then it is my business," Sylia retorted, losing the formalities as well.

Now it was Priss' turn to be backed into a corner. "Fine. Then the answer is no."

"What?"

"I've put up with your crap for a while now, but it's not worth it anymore. I'm done with your crusade."

"Priss, you can't just…"

"The hell I can't!" Priss turned her back on Sylia and started walking out of the park, towards her bike.

"Damn," she cursed to herself under her breath._ I've lost this battle, but not the war…not yet anyway._ "Priss, you're forgetting one thing."

The leather-clad singer stopped for a second, and then turned her head back glaring at the Knight Saber's leader.

"I'm not the one asking you to go to the hospital, Linna is."

"So?"

"Priss, Linna wants you to come see her. You can't tell me that doesn't matter to you."

"Do I really care what Linna wants?"

"Why don't you try asking that question to a mirror!" Sylia yelled back, frustration finally getting the better of her.

Priss turned around to face Sylia. She snarled her reply with fists clenched, tensing up as if preparing to strike. "Just leave me the hell alone! When I decide I need any more of your 'advice', I'll come beat it out of you myself!"

Sylia didn't back off an inch. "I'm glad to see the fire hasn't left the warrior's soul just yet."

"Damn you Sylia!" Priss cursed out as she turned and stomped back to her bike. As she crossed through the park down the pristine pathway, her anger faded with the sobering reality of the situation. An image of Linna lying in a hospital bed materialized in her mind. _I can't go to see Linna! What the hell would I say? Sorry, but I tried to put a hole through your gut…_ She threw her helmet on and jumped onto the red machine, banging her fist onto the console in frustration.

"How about 'I'm glad you're OK'"

_"Leave me alone!"_ Priss said to the masculine voice in her mind, holding her helmet and shaking her head back and forth.

"Sorry, I can't do that"

_"Get out of my head!"_

"You know that won't do any good…that's not where I am, now is it?"

Priss' arms fell beside her in resignation as she threw her head back and stared at the darkening sky overhead. She slowly lifted one hand to her chest and clenched her shirt…directly over her heart.

_If I start listening to you now,…_

"She's in room 221 at Kanto Memorial…in case you were wondering."

_Sylia again._ "You don't take hints very well, do you?"

"Priss, no matter what you decide about my 'crusade' as you call it, don't let your guilt get in the way of doing what you know is right in your heart."

Priss responded by turning over the bike's starter and revving the engine.

"Linna doesn't have many friends in Tokyo. She needs you right now." Sylia yelled out over the roar of the red machine.

Priss looked over at Sylia and closed her visor.

"Visiting hours start at 9 tomorrow morning, although I bet if you visited Nene, she could work something out before then…" Sylia's words were lost in the screech of rubber as the bike shot off onto the road and out of sight.

Priss accelerated quickly, gunning for the highway. She tried to let the noise from the rushing winds drown out the conflicting voices of Sylia, Katsuro, and her conscious. After a few miles, the voices calmed down enough for her usual distraction to take over. A familiar song played itself into the front of her thoughts. Those lyrics spoke to her… they spoke of passion, forgiveness, and blind love. The music flowed from her heart and drove her subconscious reactions to the twisting turns of the fleeting road. Time dissolved into the turns as a resolve began to take shape in the form of an apologetic admission. She still felt responsible for Linna's accident, but she needed to tell her why.

Without fully realizing she had stopped, Priss found herself looking up at Nene's apartment building. _"You still won't leave me alone, will you?"_ she asked her subconscious companion. No response was forthcoming this time though; she already knew the answer. _"I guess I must've listened to you after all…"_ she said to herself, placing one hand over her steadily beating heart.

_To be continued_


	6. Ch 6: Relative Matters

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 6 – Relative Matters

* * *

Priss stood outside the door to the hospital room, staring at the doorknob. "Just like going on stage…" except she knew it wasn't. Going on stage for a show was simple compared to this. On the stage, she knew what was coming, the familiar crowd reaction, the rehearsed musical chords, the accustomed lighting arrangement. No matter how much she tried to rehearse this time, it just didn't seem right. For the entire ride over from Nene's apartment to the hospital she had practiced the lines. They never seemed to express what she truly felt… not even close.

The door unexpectedly jerked open as a nurse nearly ran Priss over trying to exit the room.

"Oh! Sorry Miss… Yamazaki," the apologetic nurse read off of Priss' hospital pass, "I didn't know you were out here."

"Um… don't sweat it," Priss replied nervously, carefully peeking her head past the nurse and into the room.

"Go on ahead, she's awake and feeling much better now."

"Priss? Priss is that you?" an anxious voice called out from the bed nearest the door.

Priss walked in slowly and leaned against the door with her arms behind her back, pushing the door closed with her body as not to enter too far into the room just yet. She looked down at her feet and breathed in deeply, going over the rehearsed lines in her head one more time. "Good to see your awake now," she started cautiously. Priss made the mistake of looking up at Linna… seeing the tears falling off her face. Whatever semblance of order remained in her mind was gone in that instant.

"Nene said you had run away for some reason… I didn't think you would come."

_Damn that girl! _Priss seethed to herself. Regaining a bit of composure, she fell behind her shell for a moment and tried to answer. "Well… you can thank Sylia really. She somehow found me in the middle of nowhere and told me you were awake."

"Maybe she's tracking you?" Linna teased with a slight smile forming on her face.

"What? Tracking me?" she copied the words that she hadn't even considered yet this evening. "Wait… my bike! Jesus, she's got my bike bugged!" Priss howled out in rage, face contorting wildly. "Dammit I should have known better!" Linna giggled at the exaggerated response from her friend.

"What's so funny!" Priss shot out, not in the least bit amused.

"Your face… you should see it right now…" Linna started to laugh harder before stopping suddenly. She grabbed for her midsection in obvious pain… Priss winced as well, reminded of just what she had to do.

"How do you feel?" she asked, unsure of how else to address the topic.

"I've been better," Linna responded truthfully, relaxing some after the spasm died down. "My head feels like I was used as a battering ram, and you can see how this is doing…" she punctuated by lifting up her gown enough to show the large bandage wrapped directly over her midsection, covering from just above her underwear to just below her ribcage. "It looks worse than it feels, except when I laugh. So no more jokes please…"

Priss wasn't in much of a joking mood after being reminded of the carnage she had caused. Her hands began to shake behind her back in response to the unpleasant memories.

Linna could tell from across the room that Priss had tensed up for some reason and decided to change the subject. "Hey, didn't that nurse call you Miss Yamazaki?"

"Oh… that," Priss replied as her body relaxed momentarily. "Well, Sylia suggested a way I could see you after normal visiting hours. I guess they won't let just anybody in here to visit."

"What? Your natural charm didn't win the hospital staff over?" Linna asked with a smirk.

"Hey, I thought you said no jokes!" Priss replied sarcastically.

"I'm the sick one remember… I'm allowed to break the rules."

Priss had to smile broadly at the tone of Linna's remarks. Maybe it was her spirit that was the real reason she let Linna follow her after rehearsal that night… the night she brought her into the Knight Sabers. The cycle of memories leading to the 'accident' started anew in her mind. Priss recalled Linna's original determination to join the Knight Sabers. She wondered if her actions had extinguished the fire as a tear escaped from one eye.

"Priss?" Linna's voice pulled her out of the trance and back to the present. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied, still unsure if wanted to continue the discussion.

Linna decided to try and get her talking once more… to see if she could get Priss to open up to her. "So, how did you get in?"

Priss answered cautiously, still wary of the topic she needed to discuss. "Well, Sylia suggested I see Nene about a fake ID."

"Why am I not surprised… she's probably part of the Yakuza in her spare time."

"I'm not sure about the Yakuza, but she did set me up as your cousin."

"My cousin!" Linna laughed out lightly, careful not to put too much strain on her stitches.

"Just don't ask me about the family tree…" Priss remarked with a smirk.

"My cousin, huh…" Linna pondered briefly, "…you know, Priscilla Yamazaki does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?"

Priss was caught flat-footed by the question. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Her slightly biting tone confused Linna. "Your name on the ID silly, what did you think I meant?"

"A marriage proposal, or something like it," Priss answered almost emotionlessly.

_Why does she always take these things the wrong way? _"Why, are you afraid of a commitment?"

Priss smirked at the question. "No, but I'm only committed to my music."

"What about the Knight Sabers?" Linna asked light-hearted. When Priss didn't reply immediately, she had second thoughts about asking the question. "What's wrong?"

"I'm done with the Knight Sabers."

"What? But why? It can't be just because I screwed up again, or that a boomer managed to hurt me, is it?"

_She still thinks the boomer did that to her… _"No, I'm just tired of putting up with Sylia's crap. She tried to use you today… use you to keep me under her thumb…" Her voice ratcheted up in intensity with every word spoken. "… I'm sick of being used like her puppet. She can fight her own damn battles from now on!"

"So you're just quitting then."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Linna could hardly believe her ears. The woman she had strived so hard to catch up to, almost pattern herself after was giving up. "That doesn't make any sense Priss. You were fine two nights ago after taking out that military boomer. What happened… what happened during the last battle?"

Silence fell over the room like a blanket. Linna, propped up in bed, stared at Priss; who had broken eye contact and now stared at the pattern of the floor tile, body suddenly drawn tense. She began to fidget with the doorknob as Linna realized she was losing her.

"What happened Priss? Why did you… apologize to me?" Linna recalled as the voices replaying in her mind.

The words cut through Priss' shell like a knife as the truth began to rear its dark and ugly head out of her concealing ignorance. "I thought you didn't remember what happened?"

"I don't… mostly. All I can remember is… is you… holding me… comforting me… apologizing to me… begging me not to quit." Tears of recollection fell on both ends of the room as Linna struggled to search for the events not even a day old yet. "I just remember you Priss… just you."

"Linna, I… I'm… sorry," was all Priss could find the courage to say.

"Sorry for what? What did the boomer…"

"It wasn't the damn boomer, it was me!"

Linna stopped and waited, trying to guess at the meaning of her words.

"Damnit… it's my fault you're here, not that boomer. I… I hit you with my knucklebomb…" Tears flowed freely down her face as she accentuated the pain by rubbing her right fist, trying unsuccessfully to wipe away the bloodstain in her mind. "…so, it's my fault."

Linna covered her stitched up midsection with her hands as she tried to pull the pieces of her memory together. _It doesn't make any sense… she wouldn't just hit me with a knucklebomb! _"Why… why is it your fault?"

"Look at yourself! I almost… killed you. I thought you were… dying… in my arms." Her voice cracked badly as she choked back the tears, trying vainly to express herself… "I… I can't…" she started before turning around and facing the door. _I tried damnit! It… It's just too much… _

Turning the doorknob to leave, a cry from the bed stopped Priss from opening the door.

"Priss! Wait!" a dry voice yelled out as Linna attempted to get up to stop her. Unfortunately, she leaned too far over the side of the bed as she pulled on the freshly repaired wounds under the bandage. Pain scorched through her abdomen as she felt a few stitches pop out of place. Linna's body reflexively doubled over to protect itself, causing her to completely lose balance… jerking towards the hard floor below.

Time slowed as Priss realized Linna's predicament. There wasn't time to think, just react. She heard Linna's muffled scream on the first leap halfway to the bed. On the second, she was lifting Linna back into the bed, arms cradling her shoulders in support.

Linna returned the embrace with one arm holding onto Priss for dear life. She still held the aggravated section of her body with the other.

Priss gently lay her head into the pillows, caressing her face with one hand in an attempt to relieve the obvious pain Linna was now in. "What the hell were you thinking?" she gently scolded through misty eyes.

"I couldn't let you leave… not like that," Linna replied softly. Another wave of agony swept over her face as it forced her to let go of Priss. Both hands tried to smother the source of the discomfort as she spoke. "… suppose I got carried away though."

"No, it's my fau…" Priss started. Her words were cut off as Linna reached up with one hand behind Priss' neck and pulled her down towards her.

Closing her eyes, Linna 's lips gently brushed against Priss' cheek. She lowered back into the pillow slowly pulling away, eyes still closed. "It was an accident… I know it. You don't need to say anything else because …I forgive you." She opened her eyes to see Priss' misty brown eyes gazing down into her soul. Those eyes… They spoke so many things to Linna in the past few weeks… Intensity… Danger… Passion… Anger… and now… something else. "Priss?"

Linna's voice broke through the startled trance the gentle kiss had put her under. "Yes?"

"Why did you let me follow you that night?"

Priss looked away for a moment as yet another question caught her by surprise. "I've wondered that myself a lot today," she said, leaning back to look into Linna's face once again.

"You know even if you had left without me…"

"…you wouldn't have given up anyway," Priss finished for her. "I guess that's why. You are a fighter… somebody I wanted as a teammate."

"Priss…"

She continued on, determined to carry through on her promise to her heart. "I didn't realize how responsible I felt for you joining until last night. I felt like… I wished I hadn't let you follow me… maybe I wouldn't have…"

"Shhh…." Linna held one finger to Priss' lips, holding her guilt in check. Priss took that finger and the hand it was attached to in her own and softly smiled.

"…maybe you wouldn't have been hurt by the boomer." Priss noticed her heart beating loudly in her chest from Linna's touch. _So strange… this feeling. _

"If you wouldn't have let me follow you that night, I might not have ever know you like I do now. I think that would be worse than this little scratch," Linna emphasized by rubbing the bandage under her gown from the surgery.

"Just a scratch, huh?"

"Well, it does ache like all Hell, but I've seen you do worse to a boomer before."

Priss tried to let go of Linna's hand as she backed off at the semi-attack. "Thanks. I feel a whole lot better now."

Linna could tell Priss was only half-joking with the comment, but refused to let go of Priss. Instead she pulled her down into another hug, grunting a bit at the strain on her abdomen. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry," she spoke softly into her ear.

"Look who's apologizing now," Priss remarked softly in return.

The warm breath of Priss voice on her ear stirred the memories and emotions inside the recovering woman. Calming words of encouragement replayed themselves as Linna tightened the embrace.

"What's wrong?" Priss asked in response to the change in Linna's grip. She didn't answer right away. She didn't want to let go of the feeling… not ever.

The realization frightened her as the implications of her feelings weighed on her heart. _Why did she have to decide to quit now… _Linna, steeling herself inwardly, decided to act now instead of waiting to see if she would change her mind. "Priss, have you ever thought about…" was as much as Linna could whisper out before a loud knock on the door silenced her question.

"What?… Who's that?" Priss asked while turning her head to see the door to the room opening.

"Are you sure this is the right one?" a female voice spoke as an older man and woman entered the room.

Priss didn't recognize the couple, but she had a sinking feeling about who they probably were. Turning back towards Linna, the look on her face confirmed her fears. "Mom? Dad?" Linna nearly shouted out. Her cheeks flooded with crimson at the thought of just how to explain the compromising situation she was currently engaged in.

_To be continued…_


	7. Ch 7: When the Hourglass Shatters

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 7 – When the Hourglass Shatters

* * *

"Linna?…" the older woman spoke from the door, trying to see past the leather clad woman on top of who she thought was her daughter.

Priss rose up and backed away from the bed as Linna continued to stare at her parents in disbelief.

"Linna! That is you! Oh no…" the woman began shouting frantically as she rushed to the opposite side of the bed from Priss and gathered up Linna in a caring hug. Her father hovered closely behind, looking with a concerned eye on his daughter. Linna's mom began to calm down as she spoke softly to her. "We were so worried about you."

"Mom, how did you hear…"

"The police called us a few hours ago and said you had been hurt in some boomer attack," her dad answered. "We left right after hanging up the phone."

Her mom sat up and looked Linna over carefully. "What happened to you?"

Linna glanced nervously over at Priss, who was slowly backing away towards the door, then looked back at her mom. "Well, I don't remember too much of what happened… the doctors say I have a concussion, and with the headache I've got…" Her parents both gasped at the news. "…that's not the worst though," she admitted, lifting up her gown to show the damage to her parents. Unfortunately, Linna had forgotten about her recent incident with Priss… and about the popping noises from her stitched up abdomen. Consequently, she had no idea why her father began pointing in a very panicked manner at the bandage.

"It's… It's bleeding Linna!" he shouted out.

"Oh my GOD! Somebody get a doctor, quick!" her mother yelled out.

Linna looked down in fascination at what could be causing such a fuss, until she saw just how much blood had already soaked through the bandage. Looking down through her gown, she also noted a few spots of blood visible on the outside of her clothing. The room began to spin for a second, just before Linna fainted, head falling back onto her pillow with a thud.

"LINNA!…We need help now!" her mother began to order out, looking over at the shaking woman standing near the door.

Priss remained frozen at the sight of her friend, collapsed unconscious on the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear, hands shaking almost uncontrollably.

Linna's mom could see the shock written across the woman's face. She glanced back briefly at her husband, considering a change of tactics. His mouth was hanging open, finger still pointing at the bandage in a motionless state of stupor. Experience told her just how long it would be until he recovered enough to assist. _Not enough time… _she thought to herself. She turned back to the leather-clad woman and tried to coax her out of the trance. "Please! Linna needs a doctor… she needs you… Priscilla…" she read off her badge… "to go get help…" she pleaded.

The mention of her name broke through the panicked fog Priss was under. She gave a quick nod to Linna's mom and turned quickly on one foot. She was out the door in a second, racing down the hallway… acting on instinct alone.

* * *

Half an hour later, Priss found herself sitting in the enclosed lounge area of the hospital, staring at a vending machine. She wasn't brave enough to go back in the room with Linna's parents, but she was also too scared to leave without making sure she was OK.

Priss lowered her head down into folded arms. She remembered not sleeping in the last 36 hours after nearly continuously yawning for a few minutes. She could sense consciousness slipping blissfully away until two unfamiliar voices approached from the otherwise quiet hospital wing. She heard the sound of the door opening to the lounge, but kept her head down. She was altogether too exhausted to do much more than listen to anyone at this point.

The two masculine voices appeared to ignore her presence as they talked to themselves.

Sleep began to encroach once again as the rather monotonous medical jargon they spoke did little to spark any interest. However, the spark returned at the sudden mention of a familiar room number.

"So how's that woman in 221?"

"You mean the one hurt in the boomer incident?"

"Yeah, that's the one all the interns from the last shift were talking about."

"Well, she managed to pop a couple of stitches somehow…"

"What? She have a nightmare or something?"

"Dunno, but I patched her back together again. The incision should be fine as long as she gets rest."

"How much rest do you think Genom will let her get before they make us kick her out?"

"Hopefully until tomorrow. Every time we've got one of these boomer related cases, they're all over our ass to discharge them as soon as they're off the operating table."

"With the funding they give us, do we have much of a choice…"

"Not really… doesn't mean I like it though."

"Hey, those interns were taking a pool to see which one would get a date with that woman in 221 first. They were up to almost 10K by the shift change…"

"I don't think anyone will collect."

"Why? You know something about her sexual preferences you're not sharing with the rest of us?"

"No, nothing like that unfortunately."

"Well spit it out man. I've got a fistful of yen at stake that I don't want to part with if I can help it."

"I probably shouldn't tell you yet seeing as I haven't even told the patient yet…"

"My lips are sealed!"

"They better be! Anyway, the test results just came back from the surgery the guys downstairs did this morning. I think she had some previous reproductive issues before the attack because only one of her ovaries was fully developed. The real problem now is the other just got punctured by some shrapnel from the boomer."

"Damn! Well, maybe she'll be OK with it."

"Try telling that to her parents. They didn't look too happy when I was just repairing some stitch work. I couldn't imagine trying to explain it to them right there. Anyway, the tests basically say she'll never be able to have kids without some sort of divine intervention."

Priss' shaking returned with a fury as the meaning of the words stabbed home.

"Now I see what you mean, although I doubt the interns would care much about 'damaged goods'…

"Hey, isn't that a bit harsh to call her…" the man started to rebuff his fellow doctor until a savage scream stopped him mid-sentence.

Before either of them could even look over to see where the disturbance originated from, the offending physician's head bounced sickly off of the vending machine's hard plastic surface from a vicious right cross delivered directly to the side of his face. The white-coated man slumped down the front of the machine, knocked unconscious on impact.

The lone standing doctor looked up at the attacker; a ragged looking, leather-clad, she-demon poised to strike again. Then he noticed the badge she wore… Priscilla Yamazaki. _Shit! I'm screwed! Assuming she doesn't kill me on the spot, I'll be lucky to get a job as a sanitation engineer after this! _"Um, I don't suppose an apology would help, eh?"

The fire-breathing woman growled in response to the question, turning towards the shaking doctor with fists clenched.

The man's mind shifted quickly trying to think of a way to save his life. "I… I think breaking the news to… Linna… that's her name, right?…"

Priss' fists opened at the mention of Linna's name.

The man knew he was on the right track, he just had to keep talking and make a break for it when the opportunity presented itself. "Yeah, well I think having a relative break the news to her would be easier for Linna to deal with than someone she doesn't know, like me for instance…"

Priss' fury evaporated as the realization of what the doctor was asking hit her. He wanted her to tell Linna she would never be able to have the children she wanted… ever. Worse yet was the fact that her parents were in the room with Linna. A verbal response failed to form in her mind as the repercussions of the extent of Linna's injuries began to weigh on her soul.

"Wha… What's wrong? You are related to Linna Yamazaki, aren't you?"

Priss wasn't listening to the doctor anymore. The truth of the situation was all that mattered to her now. She walked past the stunned doctor wordlessly and opened the door to the lounge.

"Hey! Where are you going?" he queried almost elatedly. The door closed after the leather-clad woman walked out into the hallway. "I'm alive… I'm still alive! Oh man, what a mess," he commented looking down at his fallen comrade. "Better get some help before she changes her mind and comes back to finish the job…"

A mentally destroyed Priss staggered down the hallway towards the exit. Her mind began to replay the events of the last 24 hours.

_"…worse than this little scratch…" _those recent words from Linna haunted Priss as well as other memories.

_"I really do want to have kids… when the time is right" _"Except I took that time away from you, didn't I…" Priss whispered to herself. She was too spent to even cry anymore. What she had lost then almost found again appeared to be gone forever now.

Deep in thought, Priss didn't notice passing in front of an open room… with a certain wheelchair wielding man rushing excitedly out the door. Priss crashed directly into the wheelchair, almost flipping directly over the top of it and onto the floor.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry," a short man came out from behind the wheelchair apologizing furiously. "I guess I was so excited that I didn't see you out there."

"It's OK," Priss answered half-heartedly as she stood up and stretched out a bruise on her elbow. She just wanted to get out of the hospital and away from her problems as fast as she could.

The man suddenly reached over and gathered Priss in a big hug.

"Hey, what the hell?" she shouted out.

"I just needed to hug someone! My wife just gave birth to our first child… a 4-Kg baby boy! Isn't that just so exciting… the miracle of birth and all!"

Priss felt like she was going to throw up, except she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten anything. Pushing away from the beaming new father, she bolted down the hallway towards the lobby.

"Hey! I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by that you know…" the man's voice trailed off in the distance behind her.

Finding her bike in the parking garage, Priss jumped on and slammed on the accelerator as soon as the engine was up and running. She gunned for the open road again… her last remaining solstice in this crazy town… except that Sylia had that tracker on it somewhere. _Damn her! She's always been controlling me, using me… except it never bothered me until now _

The now part is what was eating away at Priss. She thought about the friend she felt she had destroyed… no matter what they had meant to each other before, there was no way Priss could look Linna in the eye now. Priss hadn't just been involved in the 'accident'… it was more like she had ripped part of Linna's life right out of her.

And then her parents… Priss couldn't even imagine how they would react to the news. _"My parents just want me to squeeze out a house full of grandchildren" _Linna's voice haunted her further. Of course, if they ever found out the truth behind the 'accident'…

The only course of action that made any sense to Priss was to just get out… run away from the pain and devastation she had caused. Her sheer presence would just be a constant reminder of what had happened. She didn't see any way to make amends... no hope of forgiveness this time... no apologies strong enough to will away the damage. She had to stay away… stay away from Linna, stay away from the Knight Sabers, stay away from everything that had led to this moment.

As she drove on the open road, even the music that would usually accompany her thoughts failed to provide any comfort. The only emotions that filled her soul from the songs were of loss, pain, and failure. Those emotions swirled inside of her all the way back to the trailer, into her bed, and lay down beside her as she tried to rest… twisting her soul downward… spiraling into a black empty void.

_To be continued_


	8. Ch 8: The Call of Home

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 8 – The Call of Home

* * *

Nene glanced over at the clock from her bed. 12:30 a.m., it read back to her. _She's been gone for four hours. She should have called by now! _The hacker had specifically told Priss to call her with any news on Linna's condition in exchange for creating the fake ID.

Nene rolled over and sighed. _I wonder if Priss told Linna she's the one who hurt her? _

She recalled just finishing prepping some disks when Priss had knocked on her door asking for a favor. Those disks were the ones she had stealthily copied from the hardsuit files after Sylia had left to go find Priss earlier in the evening. After the rather ragged looking singer had left with the ID in hand, she reviewed the footage from the office boomer attack.

Linna's files were badly damaged by the impact to her helmet, but Priss' were all too clear. Nene had to go back and review them three times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Mentally recalling the aftermath of the 'accident', Nene wondered why she didn't realize it sooner. Priss was so… so concerned… not like anything Nene could recall seeing from the normally detached Blue Saber. If nothing else, she would have expected Priss to be tossing things around the mobile pit at the sight of Linna's injuries… not hovering over her like a friend… or was it more?

Nene suspected that Linna might lean 'that way' after getting to know her over the last few weeks… but Priss? Sure, she didn't seem to be too thrilled with Leon's advances or for that matter anyone else's as far as she knew. There was that one man in her life… although she didn't know much about Priss' past. What she learned was just what she could pick up from conversations between Priss and Sylia. She didn't talk much to Nene even after nearly a year of being teammates.

She had definitely not been Priss' choice to join the Knight Sabers. Sylia had picked her because of her hacking skills. Linna, however, had been Priss' choice… not Sylia's… not even hers. Perhaps that's where the answer was… just why had Priss picked Linna?

_Not that it will matter much if I don't hear from her soon _she thought to herself as Nene drew up the covers and let sleep overcome her.

* * *

The blood-curdling scream shattered the remnants of sleep from around Misa Yamazaki. She leaped out of the vacant hospital bed and was at her daughter's side in an instant. Even with the lights dimmed, she could see Linna sitting up in bed, arms holding her abdomen, eyes open wide in shock. Misa gathered her daughter in steady arms in an attempt to comfort her.

The shaking girl heaved sobs on her shoulder, clutching her mother's neck with one arm and holding her midsection with the other. "Priss… where's Priss?" she stammered out.

"Who?"

"Mom?"

Linna's questioning reply caught Misa by surprise. "Linna, it's me. You just had a nightmare… it's OK now… I'm here with you." The soothing voice instantly calmed the shaking from Linna's body as Misa began to gently rock her daughter back and forth. She continued to comfort Linna until the sobbing stopped. Linna's arm relaxed from around her neck.

She looked up into her daughter's eyes to see she had fallen back asleep, her exhausting ordeal still taking its toll on her. She gently lowered Linna back into the bed and tucked her in, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

With her daughter resting peacefully again, her thoughts turned to that name… "Priss." It was familiar for some reason. A picture of the ragged woman practically lying on top of Linna when they had first come into the room reappeared in her mind. The nametag… she had only read it briefly when trying frantically to get a doctor earlier… what was that name… Priscilla… Priss… it had to be the same person Linna had asked about. The way she asked for her though… that brought some serious questions to her mind.

The other word that came to mind… 'Commitment'. That's what Linna had said she still feared when they had talked after the dinner back at the house. But she was sure it was that 'commitment' that had caused her to leave so suddenly after the walk with Masaki. She knew Linna's father didn't have any idea what that commitment really was. However, she knew her daughter a little better than that. Even though she had suspicions, she didn't want to unnecessarily worry her father over pure speculation. Of course, that was before Linna's boomer 'accident'… which only seemed to confirm her suspicions even more. Finally, this 'Priss' person filled in some blanks that she had… if she was who Misa though she might be.

Looking over at the clock, she noted that it was almost 3 in the morning. "Might as well try and get a couple of hours of sleep anyway." She looked over at her husband, still blissfully sleeping in a chair in a corner of the room. _That man could sleep through a typhoon… _she noted dryly. Lying down on the bed opposite her daughter, she pulled the plain white covers up over her and tried to block out the gnawing concerns in her head… until Linna's next nightmare woke her a few minutes later.

* * *

"There wasn't much left to pick up after the Knight Sabers were finished with the boomer," the operative spoke through the video connection.

"All the easier to clean up. How about the loose ends at the hospital?" Mason queried expectantly.

"Almost finished. Having an in-house employee makes it almost too easy," the agent boasted.

"What do you mean by 'almost'?"

The displeased tone had its obvious unnerving effect, even through the video feed. "We've arranged for a 'lengthy' recovery period outside of the Tokyo area. The parents are being persuaded shortly to take the employee back home with Hugh Geit supplying severance pay to compensate for their trouble."

"That should keep them from unnecessarily stirring up trouble in the Tokyo area for the time being," Mason said approvingly. He understood all too well the subtle differences between an external media circus following a military boomer incident and the internal strife caused by one of Genom's own products injuring an employee. In reality, protecting Genom from external pressures was considerably easier than trying to contain a cancerous fear of the company's product. Hiding the truth from co-workers would also be easier considering the lucky break of the office manager rampaging through a nearby building and not Hugh Geit's. That left only some minor details to address. "You have arranged to clean up the hospital computer files, haven't you?"

The surprised look on the operative's face brought a scowl from the pale skinned mastermind. "Right away sir!" the shaken man stammered out before cutting the connection.

Mason began to rub his temples. "Why is it so hard for the most powerful company in the world to find adequate people for such simple tasks?" he asked his red-haired assistant.

"I do not know sir," she answered.

"I wasn't expecting you to know, but at least I can count on you to carry out certain tasks without always wondering if I'm going to have to clean up afterwards."

* * *

The familiar voices roused Linna from the depths of sleep. She cracked her eyelids slightly until the sharp daylight from the open windows blinding them closed again. Trying to reorient herself, she concentrated on the voices. They reminded her of home… her mother and father arguing over her again.

"You can't let them do this to her. How do you know she's ready?" … her mom's voice.

"I'm not the doctor, they are. When the doctors say she's ready to be discharged, she's coming with us." … her father's voice.

_Doctor? Discharged? Hospital? _

"Doesn't Linna have a say in how she wants to recover?"

"No she doesn't! When she ran out Sunday afternoon, she lost her right to choose for herself in my book."

"So it's her fault she was hurt by that boomer?"

_A boomer attack…? _

"I never said that!"

"So why not let her decide if she wants to stay in Tokyo or not?"

_Tokyo… I'm still in Tokyo… _

"The doctors say she'll likely need two weeks of bed-rest to heal properly. Who's going to give her help for two weeks here? Not that street thug that was in here last night!"

_Priss… _Memories came back to Linna in a torrent, Priss voice… waking up to Nene in the hospital… Priss visiting… almost falling out of bed only to be caught by Priss… holding her close… her parents interrupting… and now fighting. The elder Yamazaki's comments stung at Linna, but also raised her blood pressure. She considered getting up for a split second when her mother's biting response stopped her.

"Her name is Priss and you should know better than to judge someone by their looks alone… _especially_ if they are a friend of Linna's."

"If she's such a friend, why didn't she come back to check on her? It doesn't matter anyway, Linna's coming home with us and that's final."

_…didn't come back?… _

Misa Yamazaki didn't quite agree with the finality of the situation. "I want her to come home just as much as you do, but forcing her to come will just push her away again… and I don't want to lose touch with Linna…"

The bedridden woman could sense when her mother was overly emotional. Linna's eyes were still closed but she could _see_ the tears in her mother's eyes.

"… she's all we have left."

"I know. But we have no choice. She has to come with us."

"Why?"

A tense silence filled the room as Linna waited for her father's answer.

"Her employers are offering a generous severance package… but only if we take her away from Tokyo for the recovery."

_Genom… _

"But why?"

"Does it really matter why? Besides, we need the money to afford the specialists."

"Specialists? For what?"

Her father hesitated again for a moment. "The doctor pulled me aside after the company representatives finished with their _offer…_."

Another pause… this time Linna cracked her eyes open in curiosity. Neither of her parents was looking at her. Her mother was focused squarely on her father, who was obviously troubled very deeply. He was always calm, sure, confident, and stubborn. That wasn't the man Linna saw across from her hospital bed. He was tense, hands shaking by his sides, head bowed… that sight frightened Linna more than anything he could have said. After a few more tense moments of waiting, she couldn't bear the suspense any longer. "What did he say? What's wrong?"

Her interruption snapped both parents out of their shared trance. "Linna! How long…"

"… have I been listening? Long enough." She interrupted her mother more sharply than she wanted to. She wasn't angry with her mother, but more frustrated with the familiar situation of being talked about but not talked to. The added stress of the unknown prognosis from the doctor wasn't helping matters either. "Dad, what did the doctor say?"

Her father didn't answer the question right away.

"She has a right to know," her mother added in, "and so do I."

Her father's voice cracked as he answered… something Linna hadn't heard him do in years. "They told me a bunch of medical junk… tried to make me understand what happened..."

"Understand what?" Linna queried nervously.

He looked up into his daughter's eyes as he answered her again. "You'll never be able to bear your own children."

Her mother gasped audibly and turned towards Linna.

For her part, Linna was sure this had to be another nightmare… she'd had enough of them in the past day. Her expressionless face remained unchanged as her mother rushed to her side to hold her.

Linna's father tried to continue. "They gave me a list of specialists, doctors who can help with this kind of thing. A few are close to home…"

Misa Yamazaki held her daughter upright in the bed, rocking Linna back and forth with tears streaming down her slightly wrinkled face.

Linna still hadn't reacted at all. _It's just a dream… it has to be… _The problem was she couldn't wake up, no matter how much she wanted to. Linna looked down on her gown to see her mother's tears beginning to soak the plain fabric. Another lone tear joined the fray… then another… and another… _My tears. _As if detached from reality; she looked up through a watery scene, her mother supporting her as always… father off in the distance, just standing in shock. She could feel their pain… their loss.

The beginning pangs of guilt began to creep up form the recesses of her past. _I've failed them… I thought there would be more time _She thought back to the time spent after high school… helping around the house… trying to please her parents… her father. Having failed for two years to live up to their, his, expectations; she decided to strike out on her own. She had a dream of being someone special, someone able to help others, and that led her to the Knight Sabers. Looking at herself sitting in a hospital bed as a result of wearing a hardsuit… yet another failure. _I've let everyone down… my relatives… my parents… my friends… _The guilt swelled as Linna began to sob uncontrollably on her mother's shoulder. She cried until her stitches ached… the pain just a further reminder. That caused her to cry even harder. _It's my fault… all of this… just trying to pretend to be some stupid superhero… look where it got me… all my fault… No! Not just my fault… _

The guilt turned wildly over to anger as emotions ran rampant through her blood. _…No! It's that boomers fault… but, it wasn't the boomer… it was Priss… it's Priss'… NO! Not her fault… Not Priss… Priss… _Angry thoughts dissolved into concern of her missing friend. _I can't blame Priss, can I? I forgave her… she didn't… she couldn't have known… _But lingering doubts trailed in her mind. _Why didn't she come back? _

The last thing she remembered was her parents yelling at her about her blood soaked bandage… and Priss backing away towards the door, ready to bolt at any second. That was the obvious answer. How could Priss stay in the room with her parents here, especially with her ID badge reading Priscilla Yamazaki? But, she felt so close to Priss… why did it matter if her parents were here or not? _But how does Priss feel about me? _The question brought out a stunning memory… a kiss… just on the cheek… but a kiss none the less.

Linna hadn't thought much about what she was doing. She just wanted to reassure Priss, try to make her understand that whatever happened couldn't have been her fault. Priss seemed to take it in stride at the moment, but so much was going on. Linna wanted to talk through her feelings… and tried to… until her parents came in. She didn't know when Priss had left, only that she hadn't come back. Her father's own words stung even harder now… "_If she's such a friend, why didn't she come back to check on her?"_

It was the only explanation she could think of… the only one that made any sense. _If it was just about some stupid badge, the Priss I know wouldn't care… she'd just laugh away the questions, wouldn't she?… it's not that… it's me… it has to be... _The familiar feeling of rejection ran rampant through her emotionally overtaxed mind. _…always the outsider, no matter where I am or who I'm with… _

Her mother still supported her, holding her up and letting Linna cry out the pain into her shoulder. Linna needed that comfort more than ever now. _Two months on my own and my life is over… where can I go now? _Linna made an emotional decision as the aching pain of loneliness flooded over her body. She clutched onto her mother hard and whispered to her, "Please… take me home mom."

"Linna…" her mother started before her daughter looked up into her eyes with tears streaming down both cheeks.

"Just take me home."

_To be continued_


	9. Ch 9: A War of Attrition

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 9 – A War of Attrition

* * *

The blond haired ADP officer took her seat in the dispatcher's console, stretched out her arms, cracked her knuckles, and set up Uprio-chan over the monitor. "OK Uprio-chan, our tummy's full of lunch and were ready to surf! All right… now let's see if we can find out what Linna's up to… since Priss is still blowing us off."

Nene's fingers danced over the keypad, different screens flying past her field of vision. When she reached her destination, she stopped… staring at the blank emptiness in front of her. "Huh? Where is it?" More frantic typing was followed by a deepening look of concern. "Where the hell are Linna's files?"

"Who's Linna?" a familiar deep masculine voice spoke behind her.

"LEON!" Nene blurted out, reflexively switching the monitor quickly to standby mode. "Oh, just a file on someone I was trying to track down for the chief…"

"The _chief_, huh?"

So _Leon-poo_, what brings you down here today… and where's Daly?" Nene started, trying to quickly change the touchy subject.

Leon took the bait without thinking. "He's finishing up the report on the military boomer incident over the weekend. I'm here on _unofficial_ business though," he snickered as he lowered his voice.

Nene's frown returned as she guessed the subject. "It's about Priss, isn't it?"

"Well, I haven't seen her for a few days, so I was wondering if you knew where she was hiding?"

"I wish…" Nene said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, I just said that I was wondering the same thing. I haven't seen her in oh… a week or so I'd guess," she said trying to sound as convincing as possible.

Leon was obviously disappointed, shoulders drooping at the news. "Oh. I see. Well if you do hear from her…" he trailed off walking up the stairs and out of the command center.

"…you won't be the first thing on my mind _Leon-poo-head_," Nene scowled to herself. "He's so full of it sometimes… not his fault though… he just doesn't know what he'd be getting himself into. Now what happened to those files…"

* * *

"Are you sure?" Sylia asked into the video screen with a look of concern.

"No doubt about it. The tracers are definitely Genom's. But why would they be tampering with Linna's files… unless…" Nene tensed up at the frightening thought on the tip of her tongue.

"I doubt they would have connected Linna to the _organization_, but just to be safe I'll check on it immediately. Keep me informed if you dig up anything else."

Nene wasn't going to be brushed off this easy. She continued on anyway as panic began to take over. "But Sylia, I tried calling her room… no one answered. I was just there yesterday! There's no way she was ready to leave the hospital that soon. If I hadn't seen her yesterday with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe she'd ever been to admitted to Kanto Memorial!"

"Just stay calm and keep an eye on things. Well find her," Sylia tried again to reassure the teenager.

"Well, what about Priss then? Have you heard from her either?"

"Not since last night. It's not surprising that she hasn't checked in though."

"I know that! But she _promised_ me she would tell me how Linna was doing… she never called or stopped by or anything!"

Sylia's concerned look grew deeper at the growing disarray around her. "First let's concentrate on finding out about Linna. I'm sure Priss will turn up when she's ready," she said… although Sylia had her doubts about that.

Telling Nene that Priss had quit the Knight Sabers wasn't going to help keep the expert hacker focused, assuming Nene didn't already know. Somehow she didn't think Priss would have volunteered that bit of information to Nene considering she had yet to mention it. _Besides, Priss probably wouldn't give Nene the time of day if she asked for it either. Not exactly the foundation for a solid team _she thought to herself. That's why Linna was so important. She had become the glue that could hold it all together through the tough spots… and things were going to get rough. Especially rough after the next contact with Kuzui, she feared. Just before the office boomer's rampage was detected, he had started to talk about her father's old lab. If the topic she feared most came up, she would need Linna and Priss desperately. "Look, I'll check on Linna first and then we'll see about Priss. I'm sure everything will be just fine," she offered, not being completely truthful.

"If you really think so…" Nene trailed off, switching off the link.

Sylia sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. Rubbing her temples to try and relieve some of the stress, she prepared to contact the fixer… and to try and get some answers.

* * *

"Well, that's a request I don't normally expect from your team. Let me see what I can dig up in my files," Kuzui reported through Sylia's display. "Just a second… here we are… quite the looker this Yamazaki woman is."

Sylia held her breath as the fixer focused on the off camera information. "Hugh Geit employee injured by a malfunctioning boomer the other day… says here the boomer was one of her _supervisors_… no wonder it attacked her, look at all these demerits," he noted with a smirk.

Sylia bit her tongue to keep from snapping at Kuzui's tasteless humor. "So why has Genom tampered with her medical files and where is she now?"

"Can I ask why you are so interested?"

"No."

"Somehow I didn't think you would tell me. Anyway the records show she's on medical severance leave indefinitely, lists her current address as 'outside of Tokyo' officially. Unofficially I'd bet the accounting department has more of a record of her exact location if my suspicions are correct."

"Why is that?"

"With internal employees, Genom has a brief history of sending them 'away' to recover until the lingering memories of the attack have been mostly forgotten by the coworkers. Then, they usually bring them back into the company after a thorough counseling and reconditioning program… at least with better talent anyway. Ms. Yamazaki's record isn't the greatest though."

"What have they done in those cases?"

"I've only heard rumors, but none are very encouraging."

Sylia's frown grew at the confirmation of one of her fears. "See what else you can dig up then. I need to know for sure what happened to her."

"That could get rather expensive…"

"I'll pay double the usual fee," she answered quickly.

A look of pleasant surprise crossed Kuzui's face for a moment. "I'll expect the deposit in the usual account by this evening. Hold on… give me a minute."

The screen went blank as Sylia fidgeted with the cup of tea sitting on the control panel. After a few minutes, the screen flickered then resolved into Kuzui's face once again.

"I think I've got your answer now."

"That was fast."  
"I've got some reliable high level connections. It seems that Ms. Yamazaki's parents were already in Tokyo when Genom's operatives paid her a visit. A decision was made to offer a generous severance package if they would take their daughter back to her home in Kumamoto."

Sylia breathed a sigh of relief at the news for an instant, before the full realization hit home. _She's gone now… and Priss probably won't come back without her on the team. Maybe there's time to try and get Linna back somehow, if she'll even want to come back to the Knight Sabers. _

Kuzui pressed on at Sylia's silence as another topic of more interest to him was next on the agenda. "Anyway, if that's enough on your friend, I have some other important information to discuss."

"Yes, go ahead," Sylia answered a bit distractedly, mentally reeling from the earlier news.

"It's in regards to your father's old lab…"

The fixer received Sylia's full attention from that point on…

* * *

A few minutes later, the screen went blank as Sylia smashed the half-full teacup into the console. "I've only got Nene left and NOW Genom is looking for the lab! Damit! Not now… Why now God, why now! I need to find Priss… somehow convince her to come back. How the HELL can I do that without Linna here? It doesn't matter… I've got to try, try to stop them from finding her… from finding… Galetea."

* * *

The fixer looked over at Mason with a smirk. "So was that what you were looking for?"

"…_reliable high level connections_…?" Mason queried. "Very sloppy. I'm afraid that's not up to our standards for confidentiality Mr. Kuzui," he stated pulling a pistol out and pointing it at the fixer's head.

The man was too stunned to move. Being in the business for long enough and cheating death more times than he should have, Kuzui could tell when the chips were up. "I always knew I'd get too cocky to keep this up forever… I just hoped I could make enough to retire to Tahiti for a few years," were the last words from his mouth before Mason ended his life with a single shot to the head.

* * *

The very out-of-place woman walked up to the run down trailer. Exceptionally dressed, her clothing was a stark contrast to her dark facial expression. She gave two knocks on the door and called out a name. "Priss? Priss, we need to talk." No response was heard from the vandalized trailer. Another series of knocks and another call… "Priss, your bike is chained up out here… I know you're in there."

"Take the damn tracer off my bike and get the hell out of here! I don't need your advice or your money so leave me the fuck alone!" came a dry, cracking voice from inside the trailer.

"Priss, listen to me… Please! I want to talk to you… I want to find out what happened to Linna." Only echoes answered her call this time. "Priss, Linna's gone now. She's back home with her parents. I thought you were going to try and…"

"Good. Now I can't hurt her anymore then," Priss interrupted with the response.

"Damit Priss, stop blaming yourself! Linna will be fine in a few…"

The door flew open as a very rough looking, pale skinned shadow of someone who Sylia once knew as Priss jumped out of the trailer right at her face. Her fists dug into Sylia's expensive jacket, slamming her back into the pavement with a thud. "No she won't! She's never going to be the same and it's my fault… and it's your fault too you selfish BITCH!"

Sylia stared up into the eyes of hell itself as she tried to make sense of what Priss was trying to express not so tactfully. Sylia's surprise turned to anger at the rough treatment she had received. "Get your hands off of me now!" Sylia ordered.

Something inside or Priss switched off as she released her grip and staggered back towards the trailer, turning her back on Sylia and bowing her head in resignation.

Sylia couldn't decide which was more unbelievable; the fact that Priss attacked her in the first place or that she actually backed off when Sylia told her to. She stood up and brushed herself off. "Just what the hell was that about?"

"Linna… she's… I took it away from her… from them… her family…"

"What are you talking about? What about her family?"

"She'll never be able to have kids anymore Sylia… I took away that dream from her… I know that's why she went back home. I don't blame her either."

"You didn't take anything away from her Priss, the boomer…"

"That Goddamn boomer didn't puncture her hardsuit… I did!"

Sylia didn't answer. She could see where Priss' line of reasoning was going and wasn't about to let it continue if she could help it. Unfortunately, Priss didn't give her the chance to rebuff. She trudged up the stairs and back into the trailer, slamming the door shut behind her.

Sylia's frustration boiled over at Priss attitude. "Dammit Priss! I need you… more than ever! Now is not the time to quit just because things get tough!"

She yelled out the reply through the closed door. "So I suppose you want to see if I can kill Nene next… or do you have a personal death wish?"

"Grow up Priss! Stop acting like a spoiled child!" Sylia's angry words echoed in her mind as she looked away in disgust at both her loss of control over the situation and Priss' depression laced stubbornness. As a consequence, she didn't see the door of the trailer open. She also didn't see the large object thrown at her… until it exploded right at her feet. Plastic chips and glass sprayed over the reeling woman as she stumbled back from the destroyed antique computer monitor Priss had hurled at her. She looked up in time to see what looked like glass bottles being hoisted through the open doorway next.

Deciding retreat was the better option rather than waiting to see what else Priss had hiding in the mess of a home she lived in, Sylia scampered away from the trailer. The sound of shattering glass followed her all the way to the door of the car.

Quickly shutting the door, Sylia looked back at the now quiet trailer. She fumed momentarily over the sudden attack before the consequences began to weigh on her. _It's over now. _Sylia's body began to tremble as she dropped her head on the top of the steering wheel. She reflexively wrapped her arms around her body to stop the shaking. Despair faded into depression as she thought of the internal pain Linna was probably suffering from. She felt at least as responsible for her injuries as Priss did, but she just couldn't let it show outwardly. She had to remain strong for the team… not that their was much of one left now anyway. In her thoughts, the blue and green hardsuits stood together, only to morph into an older pair of hardsuits, green and red in color, standing together. _Four former Knight Sabers… and only two left… including myself… _She thought of Nene, the other remaining Knight Saber… and just how close she had come to losing her from the team as well not two weeks previous. The only reason she was still a Knight Saber was the fact she defeated that boomer-eating monster created from her father's work. Fond memories of the celebration afterwards briefly lifted her spirits… images of Priss wearing a dress… smiles all around the group… better times. _Maybe when this is all over, I can beg for their forgiveness… maybe they would understand why I've done all this… _… perhaps if she could forgive herself first.

The engine screamed to life as Sylia tore away from the run-down section of the city, heading back for the relative solitude of civilization. _Without Linna or Priss, I'm going to need all the help I can get… _she thought out, trying to pick up the pieces of her long-standing plan. _…and the best place to try and get a head start would be through the Windmaster… _

To be continued… 


	10. Ch 10: Solo Action

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 10 – Solo Action

* * *

The Windmaster had been almost a greater assistance than Sylia thought possible. Still, the amount of ground she had to search was enormous. With his assistance, (including some high-tech and highly illegal equipment), the search wasn't impossible.

Returning from the Windmaster's sanctuary, Sylia called Nene on the car phone. She answered with a predictable question…"Did you find Priss?"

"Meet me in the lounge after work and I'll discuss it with you," Sylia replied evasively.

"I don't like the sound of that. What happened?"

"It will have to wait Nene. First I have a few things to prepare," Sylia spoke evenly, trying to remain calm even though she felt anything but.

"What about Linna? Did you find anything out from your contacts?"

"She's fine Nene. Don't ask any more questions though. I'll discuss this with you later, Please!" Sylia cut her off smartly.

"Fine. See you about six then," the defeated ADP officer spoke dejectedly before the connection was cut.

Sylia sighed at what she had to do next. Telling Nene about Linna and Priss wasn't going to be easy. She could only think of one way to make sure Nene wouldn't leave her all alone… but it was going to require some cooperation from a certain guest of hers first.

* * *

From inside the lounge of the Lady 633 building, Sylia looked over at the clock on the wall. She noted the time as 5:45… Fifteen minutes left in the legacy of the Knight Sabers if things don't go smoothly She recalled Mackey's enthusiastic acceptance of her offer to assist the Knight Sabers on their next 'mission'. I wonder if he will still be as enthused when he learns about the target of this mission… Using Mackey's help for this particular search was nearly her last resort, not that she had many options left. Sylia's main concern was just how closely 'tied' he was to this particular target. Maybe this is why he came back to Tokyo in the first place. He has to know this is why I originally formed the Knight Sabers…

The other problem was she still didn't know just how much to tell Nene. Too much and she would probably join the growing list of ex-Sabers. Too little, and Mackey might be tempted to 'fill in' the details as he knew them, which would lead to the same end result. Sylia wondered if she should have talked more openly with Mackey before. The door to the lounge slid open as one of the subjects of her troubles walked in.

"Hey Sylia! I hope I'm not too early," Mackey announced.

"No. I am actually glad you're early. I wanted to discuss the mission with you first now that I've considered your involvement further."

"Why is that?" he questioned, taking a seat across from his 'sister'.

Before Sylia could speak, Henderson's voice sounded over the intercom system in the lounge. "Mistress Sylia… I'm afraid we've detected another rouge boomer."

"Not now," Sylia whispered to herself… pent up frustration threatening to burst out of her voice.

"Shall I contact the others?" Henderson queried just as the door to the lounge slid open to allow a sprinting Nene to dart into the room.

"I just heard Henderson's announcement… what are we going to do Sylia?"

"That won't be necessary Henderson. The team is all assembled now," Sylia answered as an idea began to take shape in her mind.

"Wait, what about Priss?" Mackey questioned as Nene stopped next to him with a growing somber look on her face.

"There's no time to discuss this now," she said deflecting the question momentarily. "Nene, I want to you handle this assignment on your own. Do you feel ready?" Sylia calculated the challenge would be enough to hook Nene if she had any doubts.

"Of course I am!" the teenager shouted out reflexively.

"Good. Mackey, you and I will ride in the mobile pit. I want you to act as the primary support contact and I'll be in standby in case Nene needs any additional help."

Mackey gave a doubting stare at Sylia for a moment before looking up into Nene's face.

She looked down at the young 'boy' and smiled softly to him. "Don't worry. I'm sure I can handle this," Nene tried to reassure him.

"Come on then, let's get going," Sylia ordered out as the trio hurried down to the mobile pit.

* * *

In the mini-launch tube of the mobile pit, Nene began to have serious doubts about her own willingness to fight alone. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea

"Ready Nene?" Sylia asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she answered with a sliver of unease audible over the com system.

Sylia pulled the trigger launching Nene into the slowly darkening evening sky. She pulled her hand away from the trigger and leaned back in the control console's chair. She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a stress filled sigh. _Have I lost my mind? Does she really stand a chance up there by herself?_

The present dimmed away as the larger picture came into focus for Sylia. _She has to do this by herself. If she fails, I've got no chance of stopping Genom from finding the lab first._

"Sylia, do you want me to take over now?" Mackey asked snapping her thoughts back from future concerns.

"Yes, please," she responded, standing up from the control chair and moving back to the change area to don her softsuit… _just in case_.

* * *

As Nene landed on the roof of the glass covered skyscraper, she couldn't hold back the sinking feeling of being alone… going solo against a rouge boomer. Her thoughts turned to the last time she had landed above a boomer incident. Linna rushing in first… only to wind up in a hospital bed. And then Priss… the now broken warrior. _She was so strong… and look what happened to her!_ She had bailed out Nene time and time again. _But I've gotten better lately… I can do this!_ she tried to steel herself. The lingering concern of Priss and Linna's fate stifled her attempt at self-motivation. _If I only knew where they were… why wouldn't Sylia tell me what happened to them?_

Nene's worries were dissolved by silent alarms flashing in her eyes. Her visor lit up with scans indicating the boomer was roughly in the middle of the building below. "I've got confirmation of the boomer on the 30th floor," she announced into the com system.

"Roger that Nene," Mackey's voice answered her. "I'm reading the same from here. The scans are preliminarily showing an office maintenance boomer."

"Sounds easy enough," Nene replied. The news itself wasn't nearly as comforting as the person who was communicating it. Mackey's voice was making a definite difference in Nene's fight to repel the feeling of isolation threatening to overwhelm her.

"Nene, the ADP are surrounding the building," he warned. Quickly formulating a plan of assistance for his teammate, he reported through the com system. "I'm going to try and shut off the elevators to slow their progress up to the boomer. That way, you'll have one less factor to worry about."

The worry in Mackey's thoughts translated to his voice and warmed Nene's heart even further. "Thanks Mackey! Hey, since they will be disabled, I can use the elevator shafts to get to the boomer. That way will be easier to sneak in and out without being detected," Nene reasoned as she entered the building through the roof access.

"Be careful Nene," Mackey cautioned.

"Aren't I always…" she answered a bit sarcastically. Finding the elevator doors, she forced them open with hardsuit enhanced strength and dropped down the shaft towards the darkness below…

* * *

Leon looked across the opening to the office area at his partner crouched low, back against the wall, shotgun locked and loaded. A cascade of crashing noises from the office space behind them was complimented by the sensation of motion… movement of the shaking walls around the pair of ADP officers.

"Sounds like it's busy in there," Daily commented.

"Well let's see if we can't interrupt it's fun then," Leon answered with a smirk. "Ready…" he started, placing his revolver at the ready "…GO!"

The pair spun around simultaneously to face the expanse of open office space… only to lower their weapons in a confused stupor. Before them was an expanse of empty office space that looked to be covered by a reflecting pool… the tiles of the floor reflecting everything just like a mirror… with a few notable exceptions. First was the huge pile of furniture gathered in a mangled heap off to the far corner of the room. Next were a few conspicuous holes in the otherwise pristine floor. Lastly was the absence of the perpetrator of the strange occurrences… the boomer was nowhere to be found.

"What the hell is this one up to?" Leon asked dumbfounded.

Just then, the subject of their investigations made its appearance from behind the pile of furniture. The mutating beast was on its mechanical hands and knees, scrubbing the floor with a buffered hand. The boomer didn't pay any attention to the two ADP officers staring at it in confusion as it continued to 'clean' away.

"Should we interrupt? He's doing such a great job so far," Daily joked to his partner

"Would you rather wait and see what he does when the floor is done?"

As if on cue, the boomer howled in rage as it screamed out a curse at the shiny floor, "WHY WON'T THIS SPOT COME OUT!" It raised the non-buffered hand and swung down at the pristine tiling, smashing a fist sized hole through the floor, shaking the walls all around the open office space.

"I've seen enough. How about you?" Leon asked his counterpart.

"Time to pull the plug on this one. Lets do it!"

Leon stepped forward as he tried to level out the revolver at the malfunctioning janitor… only to have his feet fly out from under him. The big man landed hard on his back and started to slowly slide forward. The crashing sound of his fall was drowned out by the rapport of the gun discharging accidentally from his hand. "…Floor's…like…ice… stay back!" Leon still tried to warn his partner despite having the breath temporarily knocked out of his lungs. Sprawling his arms and legs out, Leon managed to stop his slide, but not until he was almost five meters away from the steady ground still under his partner.

"Here it comes!" Daily shouted out. The ruckus apparently had attracted the boomer's attention as it started to lumber towards the fallen officer.

Leon looked up to see the boomer advancing on suction cups attached to its legs and feet. "This isn't good!" He tried to reach out to Daily's outstretched hand to pull himself back only to realize he needed an extra meter or two of arm length. "This isn't working… time to try something else…" he announced turning on his back and pointing the gun at the advancing target. Leon fired at the boomer, not so much for the effect the bullets would have on its hulking frame, but for the recoil. Three shots were enough to propel him back to Daily, who grabbed under his arms and hoisted up the bigger man with surprising strength. The bullets predictably had little impact on the advancing malfunctioning menace.

Daily snapped up his shotgun from the ground and leveled it at the nearing hulk. He was about to pull the trigger when the double doors to the right side of the room burst open to disgorge a red armored form.

"Don't worry… the Knight Sabers are heeeeeeeerrrrrrr….." the blurred streak screeched out as it slipped across the floor halfway between the boomer and the ADP officers. The Red Saber continued to slide on a straight path, still somehow standing upright, until she reached the far wall. Unfortunately, that wall was simply the outside glass surface of the building. The distinct sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the office space as Leon, Daily, and the boomer all watched in amazement. The tall pane of glass shattered on impact as the Red Saber flew completely out the window and into the night.

"Well… that was rather spectacular," Daily noted dryly, as he looked back at the boomer.

The boomer in turn looked back in their direction and resumed its advance.

"So where are the rest of the Knight Sabers?" Leon questioned.

"Hopefully reconsidering an attack plan at the moment." The sharps pangs of gunfire sounded through the office space as Leon joined Daily in leveling their firearms at the boomer.

"Try and aim for the suction cups! Maybe we can even out the playing…" the shotgun wielding officer started before the roar of incoming thrusters distracted his plans.

Both ADP officers turned their attention to the shattered pane of glass on the wall as the Red Saber flew back into the building, skipped twice on the floor (still on her feet), and delivered a wicked spinning sidekick directly to the boomer's mutated head. Her momentum carried her through the path of the boomer and into the wall. The red hardsuit quickly punched a hole in the wall and held on to keep her balance.

The suction cups of the janitorial assistant somehow held in place through the vicious attack. The boomer shook off the kick and turned its attention to the new assailant. It began to methodically cover the few meters separating the two metal-coated adversaries just as the lone Knight Saber tried to fire rail spikes in its direction. The process of bringing the arm-mounted weapon to bear caused one foot to slip out from under her, sending the spikes through the false ceiling above.

"Now would be a good time for reinforcements to arrive," Leon commented with a hint of concern in his voice.

Daily held one hand to his right ear and answered. "Our boys are twenty floors down and still climbing the stairs. All the elevators are disabled for some reason."

"I was more thinking about the Blue and Green Sabers… I don't think we're going to be of much help on this surface." _Where is she?_ Leon thought to himself, mentally picturing the Blue Saber that had twice pulled him from harm's way during recent boomer incidents.

The Red Saber struggled to remain upright, as the boomer loomed ominously closer. Suddenly pushing off from the wall, she tried to throw a punch at the kneeled over boomer while sliding on two wobbly legs. The boomer saw the ill-advised attack and easily shifted to one leg to avoid the blow. The Saber's arm swung wildly around, twisting her whole body in a crazy pirouette right beside the boomer. Two wild circling motions of arms were followed shortly by two feet flying up in the air as the Red Saber crashed to the tiled floor.

The boomer took the advantage given it by pinning the Sabers arms to the ground. Next it placed one leg over the rest of her body to hold the Red Saber down while a barreled object materialized from a compartment within the hulking beast. The boomer shifted to point the object directly at the helmet of the prone Saber as she struggled unsuccessfully to dislodge the much heavier combatant from above her.

"This won't be pretty…" Daily shuddered.

"Damn, where's the rest of them?" Leon added. "Come on, we've got to try something to help!"

"Too late…" his partner said in doleful shock as the boomer fired it's gun-like object directly into the proneKnight Saber's helmet…

_To be continued…_


	11. Ch 11: Second String

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 11 – Second String

* * *

The window did nothing to slow Nene's slide across the super-waxed tiling of the office building. The glass shattered in millions of fragments as the street some 30 floors before began to rush towards the horrified Knight Saber. Instinct finally kicked in with a roar of thrusters first slowing then stopping the descent just a few floors down. The jets howled in taxed effort as Nene propelled herself back through the newly created opening in the building.

"Nene, what happened?" Mackey's voice piped in over the com system.

"Slipped across the floor… it's like an ice rink in there…" she reported a bit distractedly as she flew back in the window only to find her new trajectory on a direct path straight at the mutating boomer. More struggling to keep her balance, Nene used her momentum to her advantage. Spinning her shoulders in a very practiced motion, the young girl pivoted on one sliding foot and delivered a glancing blow directly at the boomer's head. The attack completed, she noted the rapidly approaching wall now in her vision. Seeing no other way to keep from bouncing off the wall, Nene punched a hole through the drywall and grabbed a support beam inside as she steadied her body's movements from under her.

"Nice move Nene!" Mackey encouraged.

"Thanks, but I don't think that's enough to stop it," she said cautiously, looking back at the still upright beast.

With an almost humanlike shake of its head, the boomer stared directly at Nene and began to trudge towards her on legs enhanced with suction-cup like devices.

Nene felt her feet sliding beneath her as panic took hold of her mind. Reflexively, she pulled up her arm-mounted weapon towards the approaching target and fired off a few rounds at it. Unfortunately, the shifting of the arm moved her center of balance and caused her feet to completely slip from under her, throwing the arm up and sending the darts off the intended course. The only thing still keeping Nene upright was her other arm supported through the wall.

Mackey couldn't tell just how bad things were getting, although from Nene's panicked head motions he wasn't feeling too comfortable with the situation. A feeling of helplessness gripped his soul as he realized how little he could do to aid his friend. "Just try and stay calm…" he offered out loud, more to himself than the receiver on the other end of the communications array.

"Easy for you to say!" Nene shot back sharply, not realizing the intent of the words. Pulling herself up, she could feel the vibrations through the support beam in the wall due to the boomer's proximity. The shuddering transmitted itself through the armor to her hand, down her arm, and throughout her whole body. The returning sensation of isolation invaded her mind, blocking out the course of common sense. Just finally steadying herself from the failed projectile attack, Nene hurled herself at the boomer instead of waiting patiently for an opening to appear. She cocked her arm back and swung towards the boomers chest, going for the immediate kill shot by aiming directly for the core. The lone Saber was so intent on keeping her balance once the armored fist hit the target, she never considered the repercussions of a miss… which is exactly what the evading boomer caused her to do. The beast shifted on one suctioned leg as Nene's arm swung wildly just inches away cutting an arc through the air as she spun herself completely off balance on the nearly frictionless floor. With nothing to support her this time, Nene crashed hard to the ground flat on her back.

"ooooowwww…." she weakly croaked out.

"Nene! Are you OK?" Mackey spat out excitedly, trying to make heads or tails out of what the display was showing him. The video feed he received was directly from Nene's helmet, essentially the same thing she could see from inside the hardsuit. What he saw next made him turn ghostly white from inside the mobile pit… he couldn't imagine what must have been going through Nene's mind.

Glowing red eyes burned from the boomer's disfigured face as it came into view through the remote feed. "SYLIA! Nene's in trouble! Hurry!" he yelled out towards the change room of the mobile pit. Looking back at the screen, he couldn't see the boomer's face anymore. The darkened view didn't allow for much in the way of details. "Nene what's going on? I can't tell what's happening…"

"Can't… move… it's pinning my arms and legs down…" she forced out as the visible field of vision through the camera thrashed about from the trapped teenagers struggles. Part of whatever it was above her opened up to reveal an object that looked frighteningly like a gun… pointed directly into the camera mounted in Nene's helmet.

"Mackey, what's going… oh no… is that… that's the boomer!" Sylia burst out of the change area in full armor just in time to make out the gristly situation.

"Sylia! Sylia… help… its too heavy… I can't get this thing off of me!" Nene cried through the audio feed.

Both Stingrays watched in horror as the barrel of the 'gun' discharged directly into the screen, sending the monitor's display into darkness.

Silence filled the inside of the mobile pit… until Nene's strained voice cracked through the ice.

"Wha… What's happening?"

"Nene! Nene, are you OK?" Sylia worriedly asked.

"I still can't move, but… YHAAAAA!"

The scream pierced though the speaker system at the console as the screen swirled about momentarily before resolving into the boomers arm… with the rotating buffer attached.

"It's… It's just cleaning her helmet!" an elated Mackey shouted out, nearly jumping out of the chair with relieved joy.

"Just stay calm Nene… don't make any moves to provoke it… I'm coming up now," Sylia cautioned.

"Like I have much of a choice… it's still pinning me to the floor," the shaken girl nervously acknowledged.

"Mackey, launch me as soon as I give the word," the White Saber ordered.

"Just let me know when you're ready," he replied.

A few moments later Sylia's voice chimed in over the com system to the waiting Mackey at the control console. "Send me out Mackey."

"Ready… GO!" he announced activating the mini launcher in the mobile pit. As he sent Sylia out of the pit, the display continued to show the boomer's cleaning efforts on the helpless Saber. He could hear each of Nene's stress filled breaths of air through the com system as she desperately fought to remain calm.

"Hang on Nene. Sylia's on her way now."

"Ok… Thanks Mackey," she nervously replied.

The boomer repeated the process of applying cleaning solution to her helmet two more times as she tried to keep Sylia's advice in mind… "don't make any moves to provoke it" Sylia's words replayed themselves to her. A garbled roar from the beast above sent fresh shivers down Nene's spine as the boomer's arm flashed upwards above her helmet for a moment… just before its hand formed into a fist and streaked towards her head. Without even a chance to scream, the young Saber reflexively jerked to the side to try and avoid the crushing blow. Fortunately, the boomers weight was shifted just enough to allow Nene to free herself from its restraining grip. The boomers fist punched a hole inches away from the red helmet as she scrambled away from her attacker, momentarily firing thrusters to create separation on the slick surface. Sliding back to the wall, Nene managed to balance herself enough to get back to a standing position again. "God that was close!" she breathed out in momentary relief.

The boomer turned back towards her with a fury as it lumbered forward once again.

"Enough is enough already!" Nene cried out as she pushed off from the wall circling the boomer as she began to use her jump thrusters as maneuvering jets, maintaining a safe distance from the plodding beast while looking for an opening. Finally circling around enough to gain a small advantage, she leaped up into the boomers back and struck hard with a punch/kick combo, sending the mutating boomer on its face in a heap.

"Alright! Way to go Nene!" Mackey cheered on through the helmet.

"Time to finish this!" Nene cried out as she leapt off the floor and aimed through the boomer's back with her hand formed in the shape of an arrow, pent on piercing all the way to the core. She dropped down towards the still stunned malfunctioning janitorial assistant for the certain kill… until a hailstorm of machinegun fire thundered into the side of her armor. The wave of bullets knocked Nene to the ground but luckily didn't pierce the protective armor surrounding her. The attack sent her sliding into the pile of furniture in the corner of the cleared office space. She groaned in agonized pain at the hammer like pounding the bullets delivered.

"Nene, are you OK? What just happened?" Mackey spurted out worriedly once again.

"…don't know… felt like…" she started to speak as she looked over in the direction of the disturbance only to find a uniformed squad of AD Police hunched over with weapons at the ready aimed in her general direction. "Damn… never here when you need them… always in the way when you don't…" she joked half-heartedly at the unwelcome arrival of her co-workers. She struggled to regain her footing amongst the mound of mangled cubicles.

A bright flash from the squad of semi-soldiers preceded a flurry of flashing warnings from her virtual HUD. Nene fired her thrusters without thought of a direction at the threat of the incoming projectile. A rocket-propelled grenade annihilated the pile of office furniture, hurling the not distant enough Nene hard into a supporting column. The exploding debris shot flames and smoke throughout the enclosed office space, pitching the room into darkness.

The ADP squad prepared to launch another assault on the downed targets just as a ghost-like figure materialized right before their eyes. Two more experienced plain-clothes officers beat a hasty retreat at the emergence of the White Saber in the midst of the battle, while the remaining force tried to track the swiftly sliding object. Muffled screams were followed shortly by an explosion in the opening the AD Police were using, scattering the remaining uniformed personnel out of the area.

Sylia cautiously maneuvered through the smoke over to where her sensors indicated the Red Saber had fallen… only to find she was already back on her feet again, using the dented column as support. "Nene, are you OK?"

"Been better," she commented shortly, rubbing the slightly dented right side of her hardsuit. "First the boomer then the ADP… anybody else want to take a shot at me today?"

"Speaking of the boomer…" Sylia added as a large object began to take shape out from the smoke filled space. Just as she could make out the glowing red eyes of their assailant, it began to rain inside the office. The sprinkler system activated instantly dousing the sprouting flames and beginning the cleansing process of clearing the smoke from the room.

The boomer adapted well to the added challenge of maneuvering on a nearly frictionless floor covered with water, the added tension of the liquid aiding the suctioning ability of its leg mounted attachments. Unfortunately, the two Sabers weren't as quick to adjust. The boomers buffered hand exploded into a flurry of tentacles directed towards the remaining Knight Sabers. Nene dodged with a burst of thrusters only to slip and fall on the wetted tiling. Sylia performed a similar maneuver, sliding over to another supporting column to maintain her balance.

"This isn't working Sylia… we've got to try something else," the Red Saber said as she struggled to regain her footing.

"I've got an idea," Mackey interjected over the com system.

"Make it quick. Our batteries won't last forever up here," Sylia said with a hint of frustration breaking through her voice.

The boomer continued to press its advantage as the two Sabers fought just to stay upright and out of the reach of the heavily mutated boomer. Suddenly, the beasts eyes flickered and steadied for a moment as the attacks ceased. Sylia and Nene, separated by a few meters, watched in amazement as the boomer simply plodded between them towards the glass wall.

"What's it doing?" Nene questioned.

"Cleaning the windows on the outside of the building," Mackey announced cheerily.

"Wha… How the hell…"

"I looked up the specs on Genom's servers… a rigged signal from the automated scaffolding software can trigger the boomer to go outside to clean the windows," he proudly announced.

"I could kiss you right now," the proud hacker exclaimed. Silence filled her helmet as the literal meaning of what she had just said finally caught up to Nene. She thought she could 'hear' Mackey blushing through the com system, although she wasn't sure.

"I think he may have fainted," Sylia joked.

"I… I'm fine," Mackey finally stammered out, obviously flustered.

The boomer trudged closer to the scaffolding, which had just lowered into place outside of the 30th floor.

"Sylia, what do we do when the boomer gets on the scaffolding?" Nene asked.

"We will cut the supports from the roof," Sylia replied coldly.

"Are you sure that will kill it? And what about the people below?" Nene began to question worriedly.

"The ADP should have the area below secured. If the boomer somehow survives after falling from this height, even the ADP should be able to deal with it then."

"I hope you're right."

The boomer suddenly stopped, shook it's head, and turned back towards the startled Knight Sabers across the room.

"Mackey what happened?" Sylia asked.

"I… I'm not sure…" he admitted.

"I'd say it changed its mind…" Nene added a bit dejectedly.

Gunfire erupted all around the boomer as the beast toppled over from the surprise attack. The wave of bullets ripped apart the suctioning devices around the beasts legs, effectively rendering it immobile for the time being.

"Looks like the ADP are back for more," the Red Saber reported.

As if she had spoke directly to them, the ADP turned the gunfire towards Nene and Sylia.

"There's no time to deal with both of them," Sylia cautioned.

Looking over at the fallen boomer, an idea popped into Nene's head. "I'll end this right now!" she shouted out. She launched her hardsuit into the air with a blast of thrusters. One reason was to reach the fallen boomer … the other to avoid the ADP attack. Nearly skimming the low ceiling, Nene flew over to the boomer and turned her body around in midair, thrusting her feet down into the boomers form.

The kick thundered through the mass of the boomer, sliding it towards the single broken pane of glass… the same one Nene had flown out of earlier. The 'idea' Nene had was to use that window to send the boomer to the ground below since the suspended scaffolding didn't reach that far over.

As she landed on her hands and knees, Nene tried to fire the jets again to distance herself from the boomer, only to have her request denied by the hardsuit as low power warnings flashed in her helmet. Something jerked at her leg as the Red Saber was pulled to the ground and towards the wall. She looked down to see a tentacle wrapped around one leg attaching her to the boomer, who was sailing out of the broken window and into the night. The frictionless floor offered no assistance whatsoever. The only thing Nene could try and do in the split second of time left was to fire a dart into the tentacle to free herself. The ploy worked as the thin strand dissolved from around her leg… but it was already too late. Nene looked down in horror as the supporting tile disappeared from beneath her to reveal the distant street below starting to rush towards her.

Time seemed to slow down for the teenager… the rapidly approaching ground below… the boomer crashing into an ADP car… the car exploding into flames… tumbling through the air… voices screaming over the com channel… the mirrored building rushing by… frantically rerouting power in the hardsuit… thrusters sputtering to life… then… impact…

* * *

Thinking Nene was flying in to crush the core of the boomer, Sylia watched the Red Saber's maneuvers from a distance, more concerned with the ADP attacks at the moment. She glanced over in time to see the spectacular kick delivered to the boomer. She watched the boomer fly out the window… only to realize too late that Nene was somehow attached to it. Everything happened too fast to even think about helping out. "NENE!" Sylia reached the broken window just in time to see the ADP car explode from the boomer's impact. The shrinking red hardsuit tumbled below as Sylia's heart stopped at the realization that Nene's thrusters weren't coming on. A brief flash of light from the previously silent jets gave her a moment of hope… before a sickening cessation of motion followed shortly by the distinct sound of metal crashing into concrete dashed them completely.

"Nene! Sylia! What happened!" Mackey's panicked voice blared out. "I just lost Nene's signal… where is she?" Switching over to view Sylia's feed, Mackey's own heart stopped as he could see what she was looking at… the deathly still form of a red hardsuit partially embedded in a crater on the distant ground below.

"oh god… Nene! Can you hear me?" the White Saber called out through the com channel as she jumped down to her fallen teammate. Sylia landed just beside the red hardsuit, the surrounding chaos of screams, shouts, and flames fading into the back of her subconscious. She looked down at the hardsuit lying face up, partially buried into the concrete of the sidewalk, the faceless helmet staring into the smoke filled night sky. She reached down with one hand to touch the motionless Saber. Up close she could see spider cracks around the visible portions of her helmet and upper torso.

"Sylia… is she…?" Mackey whispered solemnly.

"I don't…" the Knight Saber's leader started to speak before something reminiscent of a sledgehammer slammed into her left side, blasting Sylia across the street nearly into the next building over. _"...damnit…"_ she weakly croaked out turning over and looking back at the smoking cannon of a K-suit, blue armor glowing by the rising flames of the destroyed ADP patrol car. A few other ADP soldiers surrounded the K-suit, guns drawn on her position. _"…ADP never quit…"_ she complained to herself.

Parts of an intelligible static filled communication cracked through the helmets internal speakers. _…Mackey…com system must be dead now…_ Warning lights flickered inside Sylia's display, showing a rapidly lowering power supply as well as various system failures. "…can't end… not like this…" She quickly evaluated her battery status. _…about a minute left… not enough time…_ Sylia looked past the ADP core, over at the unmoving red hardsuit and made the hardest split-second decision of her life... a decision to live to fight another day… and to leave her teammate behind. "I'm sorry Nene… please forgive me…" she whispered, trying to somehow convince herself that it was a posthumous apology. The White Saber leapt to her feet and prepared to leave the battle behind when the K-suit pitched wildly to one side before exploding into a red-hot fireball, scattering remains of the surrounding ADP officers with it.

A huge mass of metal, assault guns, and cleaning utensils stepped through the wreckage of the ADP armor, glowing red eyes still burning brightly, focused directly at Sylia. A brief flash of machinegun fire temporarily distracted the boomer until it answered with the rapport of several protruding weapons of its own, silencing the disorganized response. The boomer turned back towards the White Saber, intent on getting revenge for its hellish suffering.

Sylia's initial reaction was to bolt from the path of the monstrosity… that attempt failed miserably as one of the leg actuators froze from the damage inflicted by the K-suit. She fell over, landing on her bruised left side as the boomer approached menacingly closer. _…about 45 seconds… _she noted, trying to catch her breath while looking at her power meter. Sylia stood back up, compensating for the failed actuator, and faced the boomer with blade drawn. _…no time for this…_ She prepared to defend herself anyway in the last few minutes she was likely to be alive. More alarms flashed on the HUD as she tried to move, telling her she wasn't going to get very far as the beast approached closer. _If the boomer doesn't kill me like this, the ADP probably will…_ she resigned to herself.

Just as she braced for the coming attack, the boomer's body shuddered, red eyes sparked then waned before dying out completely. The hulking mass fell forward with a resounding clang… with a certain red hardsuit latched onto its back, arm buried deep inside of the boomer's body.

"Nene! Your alive!" she shouted into the dead com system, limping over to the Red Saber.

Nene didn't move from her position on the back of the boomer, hardsuit power apparently drained completely from the last-ditch attack on the boomer.

Sylia pulled the teenager from the back of the dead boomer and draped one red arm over her shoulders. _…maybe 30 seconds if I'm lucky…_ she thought to herself after reviewing the irregular power readings from her suit. Looking into the rising smoke from the surrounding fires, she plotted out the best course to try and escape. With a mental crossing of her fingers, the White Saber activated her thrusters… and was rewarded with a blue flash followed by upward motion from the mangled urban battlefield.

* * *

A certain ADP officer smiled at the sight of the two Knight Sabers lifting off into the sky. "I thought the red one was finished for sure," Leon commented to his partner.

"The white one didn't fare much better this time. I wonder where the other two are hiding… I can't remember the last time the blue Knight Saber wasn't involved in a boomer incident."

"I was just thinking the same thing. They could have really used her this time out," Leon added. "I wonder if something happened to her during the military boomer incident this past weekend we didn't see?"

"I don't think so," Daily replied. "However, I did hear some rumors of a pretty serious in house incident at Hugh Geit…"

"Well, don't leave me hanging Wong! Spit it out!" the impatient one turned on his partner.

"Since the ADP didn't get called in on that one, I haven't heard much… but a friend of mine that works with the hospital had an interesting story to tell…"

* * *

A tense few moments and several hundred meters later, Sylia landed beside the mobile pit and banged on the door. Not more than two seconds later the door slid open to reveal a very distraught Mackey, who scooped up the Red Saber by her arms and dragged her on the floor inside with Sylia crawling gingerly behind. The two Knight Sabers remained on the floor, sheer exhaustion and the weight of their dead hardsuits holding them down. The Red Saber's helmet motioned back and forth, surveying her surroundings.

Nene's head motions told Mackey all he wanted to know right away. "She's alive!" he yelled to his sister.

Nene reached for her helmet to pull it off, which Mackey helped with as well. Lifting the cracked covering out of the way revealed a worn out blond haired girl gulping in breaths of air. Her eyes were closed with a trickle of blood running from a corner of her mouth down her chin.

Mackey was still positioned in front of Nene on the floor, looking at her face upside down. "You're alive! Are you OK? Is anything broken? I was so worried…" Mackey rapidly shot out the series of questions and concerns as Nene opened her eyes to him.

Her voiceless response was to wipe the blood from her mouth and place one hand behind Mackey's neck. She pulled his head down as the other teenager tensed up reflexively at her touch. She brought him all the way into a gentle kiss directly on his lips. She kissed him until she felt his tension dissolve away… and then let him go, still struggling to catch her own breath.

Sylia, who had pulled her own helmet off, just lay on the ground in shock staring at the two teenagers sharing a very intimate moment in her presence.

Mackey, with cheeks turned deep red, just stared down into Nene's upside down face watching her breathing finally become more regular. After basking in the afterglow for a few more moments, he gathered up the courage to ask a question. "So… why did you do that?"

"Help me out of the hardsuit first…" Nene requested breathlessly.

After popping the locks on the powerless armor still lying on the floor, Mackey held on to Nene's arms and gently coaxed her sweat-covered body out of the tight fitting suit. Helping the blond haired girl to her feet, he supported Nene over to a chair, which she promptly collapsed into. Mackey sat on a corner of the chair sitting side by side with her. He gathered the exhausted girl into a hug, which she warmly returned, resting her throbbing head on his shoulder.

Sylia struggled out of her own hardsuit as she watched the two remaining members of the Knight Sabers 'bond' more closely than she could have ever hoped… or feared. The problem was she didn't really know which she felt at the moment. _This could complicate things a bit more than I planned on, but given the alternative… _Sylia shuddered inwardly at just how close she had come to losing everything. Two times during the battle she thought Nene was dead, or very close to it. On top of that, her own inattention had almost cost Sylia her own life. However, the worst part was the building guilt of the self-incriminating knowledge that she had (at one point) decided to leave Nene behind. _But she's still alive and here with us… she even saved my life… for a second time…_ A small smile grew on Sylia's own tired face as she walked back to the change area to get ready to drive back to the Lady 633 building, taking some comfort that fate had somehow turned in their favor in the end after all.

After a few minutes of rest, Nene looked up into Mackey's eyes with a slight grin forming on her face. "When Sylia was carrying me back here, I realized just how lucky I was to be alive… how I had taken some things for granted… I promised myself I wouldn't do that anymore, and I thought of you."

The color of Mackey's face nearly matched the red of the armor lying open on the floor.

Nene continued as she looked down at the hardsuit. "I haven't known you for that long, but… you're one of the nicest persons I've ever met. You are so caring… hearing your voice out there tonight… it really helped me get through the tough spots." She looked back into Mackey's still red face… into his eyes… "I guess what I really wanted to say was… thank you." At that, she lifted up her lips to brush against his cheek then drew him into another tight embrace. Nene noted her various aches and pains didn't quite hurt as much as they should have… which she attributed to the warmth she felt from Mackey's comforting touch.

Mackey couldn't begin to form the words to express the emotions his body was experiencing, so he chose to simply hold Nene close to his chest, letting his heartbeat speak for his mind.

They continued to hold each other as Sylia started to drive the mobile pit through the streets of MegaTokyo. The two tired teenagers communicated wordlessly to each other through gentle squeezing of hands and reassuring hugs all the way back to the Lady 633 building.

_To be continued…_


	12. Ch 12: Glue, Tape and Time

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 12 – Glue, Tape, and Time

* * *

Sylia's head was pounding… not from the aftereffects of the battle almost two hours ago, but from the frustrations staring her in the face. The screen before her was lit up with over a hundred points that needed to be searched; any one of them could be the location of her target. She needed functional hardsuits to carry out that search. However neither hers nor Nene's suits were in any condition for use after the beating they had absorbed. Nigel would need time to get the hardsuits back in fighting shape, or at least something resembling operability. The complication was that time was not on Sylia's side. For every point in front of her, she knew Genom could have ten people searching the underground areas. _If they find her first…_ Sylia shook her head violently. _No! I can't let them! There's no telling what they would use her for… I can't let that happen!_

Sylia's frayed nerves shook her whole body from head to toe. She picked up one pill bottle from the pile lying on the console in front of her. She tried to open the top, but her hands weren't steady enough. The plastic tormentor finally got the better of her as she raised the bottle high in the air and smashed it into the edge of the computer terminal. The container split down the side, spilling the contents onto the floor. Sylia scooped up several multicolored ovals off the floor in her shaking hands, spilling a couple back to the floor in the process. She washed the pills down with a half full bottle of wine, and then flung the empty bottle across the room, shattering against the wall into a million fragments.

_I can't let anything get in the way of finding her first… if only the hardsuits weren't so wrecked… if only Nene hadn't jumped at that boomer…_ Sylia bowed her head over the console and pulled at her hair with both hands. She was losing control over the entire situation… somehow she had to get it back. She thought of the resources it would take to perform the search. She had to implicitly trust Nene would be able to do what she asked, without question. Right now, she wasn't sure if she could. _I've got to make her understand… get her to think._ The problem was just what the girl had on her mind… and it probably wasn't the upcoming mission.

Since coming back to the building, Nene and Mackey had been nearly inseparable. Sylia had actually entertained the thought of some sort of relationship developing between the two of them, but the timing couldn't be worse. It was just the kind of distraction that could get someone seriously hurt. A more frightening thought crossed her mind… What if she finds out the truth about Mackey… Sylia had considered the possibility before, but she though of him as more human than most people she knew. The only way to find the truth was to get very close to him… that is exactly why the kiss the couple had shared in the mobile pit had shocked her so. If Nene ever learned his secret, the likelihood of Nene staying with the Knight Sabers after that was nonexistent. _I've got to stop this… before it goes to far._ But the possibility of losing Nene was too strong to ignore.

With both Priss and Linna out of the picture, that left a scarce few options available to Sylia. However, one that came to mind wasn't the first time she had considered it recently. It was low risk, but the chance for reward was even smaller. Yet she really had nothing to lose but her pride at the moment. A few shaky keystrokes and a couple of E-mails later (that took much longer to complete than it should have) she was finished with her task. She briefly considered her response if the people she was attempting to contact actually responded, however Sylia quickly decided to play it by ear and word a response when (or if) it became necessary.

That option dealt with, her thoughts turned to a more immediate concern. Another plan began to take shape in Sylia's mind, which began with keeping Nene and Mackey apart for just a while. _That's all it will take. And once this is all over, maybe we'll see about patching things up between them again,_ she thought to herself as Sylia turned the ill-intentioned plot over in her mind.

* * *

"Priss and Linna really aren't coming back, are they?" Nene solemnly asked, sore shoulders sagging under the added weight being placed on them. She suspected Priss would have difficulty dealing with her role in the accident after discovering its true nature. But, after hearing of the extent of Linna's 'injuries', Nene didn't know what to think anymore. It was almost too much to bear at the moment.

"I'm afraid not, which is why I wanted to talk to you about tonight's battle," Sylia said with a scowl forming on her face.

Nene looked down at the floor at the introspection of the night's events. "We were pretty lucky to get out of there…" the blond haired girl said with a half smile, not thinking about what it might do to Sylia since her mind was still sorting out the news concerning her former teammates.

"LUCK HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!" the leader of the Knight Sabers exploded off the couch and into Nene's face. "You were completely reckless and out of control! What were you thinking! Maybe Priss would show up and bail you out again! Maybe the boomer would just roll over and die! Maybe the AD Police would be able to handle it this time!"

Nene's tired mindreeled from the unprovoked attack. Only a couple of short hours since the near death experience, she had only begun the laborious process of physically recuperating from the battle, never mind the mental aspects. Her eyes began to water as emotions trampled through her system uncontrollably. "I… I'm sorry Sylia," Nene stammered out, "I was just trying to do my best out there by myself." The exhausted teenager closed her eyes to hold the tears back, wiping at her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

"That's exactly why you can't go charging into a battle without carefully evaluating the situation first," Sylia said backing down a bit, satisfied that the urgency of the message was delivered loud and clear. "You don't have the backup you used to have anymore, and I can't afford to lose you… not now."

Nene's spent mental state didn't allow her to notice the dark overtones in Sylia's voice.

"Listen Nene," Sylia continued, taking a seat next to the slightly shaking girl on the couch, "we have a very important mission coming up and I want to make sure we complete it. But I need for you to use your head as well as your hardsuit when taking on a boomer. Think about what you're going to do before you do it. Trying to 'kick' an immobile boomer out of the 30th floor of a skyscraper wasn't the best choice of tactics. You didn't even look at your battery meter before you attacked, did you?"

Nene just nodded her admission of fault, not bothering to look up at Sylia's face.

The door of the lounge slid open to let Mackey in. "Nigel just started looking at the hardsuits," he began to speak before taking notice of the serious discussion taking place. "He said that… _Nene, what's wrong_?" the boy broke in mid-sentence when he realized she was trembling, with arms wrapped around her body.

Nene looked up and tried to answer him. Normally his mere presence would have been enough to lift her spirits right off the couch. However, with the weight of Sylia's sharp criticism and the confirmation of the loss of Priss and Linna, she barely felt as if she could breathe. _"It's… I…"_ She stopped, unable to coherently communicate the myriad of feelings she was suffering through.

"Nene and I were critiquing the battle tonight," Sylia offered in her place, placing an arm around the girl's shoulders.

Nene flinched at the contact, nerves nearly shot after all she had been through in the last few hours. The discomfort she felt at Sylia's touch wasn't lost on Mackey.

"Maybe I could get you some cocoa?" he asked, looking down in to Nene's torn face. He wanted to give her a hug right now, but something about Sylia's demeanor kept him at bay.

"Actually, I need to talk to you as well Mackey," Sylia countered, the words not as much of a request as they were a demand.

Mackey looked at Sylia and then at Nene, who was now staring out the window in the opposite direction of the woman next to her. He could tell that the blond girl was hurting, but still wasn't sure why. He took a seat on the other couch and faced Sylia with a look of deep concern crossing his face. I know it must have been scary for her, but what could be bothering Nene so much now?

"I appreciate your efforts tonight…" Sylia started innocently enough before removing one arm from Nene's shoulder and then folding both arms in front of her in a semi-display of power, "…but before you try anything that brash again, I suggest you clear it with me first," she finished with more than a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"Sylia… everything was happening so fast… I was just trying to help," he tried defending himself.

The Knight Saber's leader raised her voice, drawing Nene's attention away from the window in the process. "I KNOW you thought you were doing the right thing, but you could have at least let me know before you tried it. Besides, trying to crack into Genom's servers could have left a trace back to our network… or didn't you consider that possibility?"

"But I was really…"

"YOU DIDN'T CONSIDER IT, DID YOU?"

"Leave him ALONE Sylia!"

Sylia was caught completely flatfooted by Nene's forceful interjection. She turned her head to see the teenager standing up from the couch, a stern look in her eye despite the tearstains on her cheeks.

Nene looked Sylia right in the eyes as she continued. "He was just trying to help… and for all you know he could have saved our lives."

"Nene, she's right."

"Mackey…" the teenager let out a defeated sigh, not wanting to believe what was hearing.

Nene's momentary distraction was enough for Mackey to 'hear' the message behind Sylia's words. He knew there was more to what she was saying, and that picking this fight wasn't the way to deal with her plans, whatever they might be. "Listen, I should have at least consulted with Sylia before I tried anything with Genom's databases," Mackey explained to the stunned girl before turning to his sister. "I'm sorry Sylia… and I'll be more careful next time."

A victorious smile appeared across the elder woman's face. Her plans were falling into place even faster than she had hoped. However, Nene didn't take the rebuffing so well. Her shoulders sagged in response to Mackey's sudden betrayal. She fell back into the couch, face staring straight ahead into nothing… altogether too exhausted to fight back anymore.

Sylia took that as her cue to begin the briefing, satisfied that neither of her teammates were up to asking too many questions at this point. "Thank you Mackey. I know you both tried your best, but we really need to be more careful from now on." She stood up and walked away from the couch, turning to face both of them before she continued. "The next assignment will seem very simple, but there is a very real danger associated with it. The basis for the mission is to locate the source of some advanced technology in the ruins of the earthquake stricken area of Tokyo."

Mackey's head popped up at the mention of the ruins, however Nene continued staring into space almost oblivious to her words.

Sylia noticed Mackey's change of stance. "I'm not exactly sure what we will find down there, but we've got quite a bit of ground to cover. We will be using some special sensing equipment to detect our target. Nene, you and I will take the sensors out to search in the hardsuits. Mackey, you will stay here at the building and help coordinate our efforts."

Mackey simply nodded his acceptance of his role.

Nene stood up without so much as acknowledging the assignment and walked towards the door of the lounge.

"Wait… where are you going?" Sylia asked a bit taken aback by her attitude.

"If you're done now, I'm going home. I'm sure you want me rested so I don't screw up anything during this next mission," she added bitterly.

"Nene, please wait," Mackey called after her.

She stopped for a moment and turned with an evil eye towards the boy. "Why, so you can stab me in the back again?"

Mackey mouth was agape at the attack, unable to defend himself as Nene turned and walked out of the lounge, the sliding door closing with finality behind her. He lowered his head and held it in his hands for a moment before bolting up and starting to run out the door to stop Nene… before Sylia stepped in his way.

"Wait!"

"No! I need to talk to her now," he said, trying to push past her.

"Just hold on a second, she's not going anywhere," Sylia added holding her ground to the smaller boy. "Besides, Nene's had a long day and needs her rest."

"But I can't just let her leave like that," he pleaded with Sylia.

"Mackey, have you considered telling her the truth about you?"

The ramifications of the question stopped Mackey in his tracks. He looked away from his sister as he ceased his struggles, losing himself in the thought of what Nene would think if she knew what he really was…

* * *

Nene stood outside the door to the lounge, anger having evaporated with the aching of her heart, waiting… waiting for Mackey to come bursting through to stop her… waiting so she could throw herself into his arms and tell him she didn't mean the words that she had just spoken… waiting for a chance to relive, if just for a moment, the warm comfort they had shared together just a short time ago.

As she waited, she heard Mackey's raised voice that gave her hope… then Sylia's voice… then the combined voices died down… and still she waited. She couldn't make out the words, only enough sound to know that Mackey wasn't coming out. Enough sound to know that she was wasting her time.

Nene rested her back against the wall opposite the door to the lounge, closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Her body began to ache more after each passing second, the throbbing pain a reminder of the crazy events of the evening.

Her jumbled thoughts turned briefly to what Sylia and Mackey could still be discussing. Perhaps talking about finding something in the earthquake zone. A few spontaneous questions died a brief death in her bleary mind, as she stood straight up and dragged herself out of the Lady 633 building.

However, her thoughts were filled not with nightmarish images of the boomer or even the harrowing powerless fall out of the building, but of a young boy who she knew so little about yet cared about more than anything else in the world. Those thoughts carried her all the way to her apartment and into her bed, where she was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. However, even in her dreams, the young boy continued to keep her company.

* * *

The soft light filtered through the familiar window into one of Linna's cracked open eyes. She allowed herself to adjust to the brightness of the day for a few minutes before trying to do anything else. _I guess I finally got more than an hour of sleep this time…_ The past day had been nothing short of hell for the nearly broken woman. Waking up in a hospital bed with no recollection of how she even got there was one thing. Finding out that Priss had been part of the reason and that she completely blamed herself was quite another. Just when she thought she had made amends for that situation, her parents had shown up. Whether or not Priss had left because of her parents or something else she hadn't decided for sure yet… she changed her mind almost constantly on the long ride back to Kumamoto.

Of course, all those problems paled in comparison with the pain that still ached in her abdomen. The pain was just as mental as it was physical now, andit still hurt like all hell… even just to breathe. That made each tortured breath a reminder of the failure she felt she had become... a failure in her family's eyes, her parents' eyes, and her own as well. Depression mounted once again as Linna sagged back into her pillow and closed her eyes to shut out the bright sunlight trying vainly to shine on her. Even with her eyes closed, some of the light illuminated the inside of her eyelids, alerting her to the brightness attempting to invade her space. She drew up the covers over her head to block out the light completely, the draw of darkness tugging her soul downward. The call was strong enough to make her believe she never wanted to leave bed again. However effective eyelids and blankets were to light, they didn't have nearly the same affect on sound.

The thin walls also didn't provide much in the way of privacy in her parents' house. As a consequence, the distinct voice of her mother talking with someone was nearly crystal clear. The masculine voice she was conversing with sounded familiar, but Linna couldn't immediately place it. As she listened a mental image of a blond haired man came into focus… _Masaki!_ Her heart skipped a beat at the recognition… his kindness and understanding even in the difficult situation she had put him into wasn't lost even in her self-absorbed state. It seemed like months ago when she had run out on him after asking to borrow money for the rail ticket, instead of the three or so days that had actually passed. So much had happened since then… _Why would he be here now?_ She listened intently trying to pick up some clue, pushing the covers back from her head, but not quite ready to open her eyes to the light just yet.

"I don't think she's awake now, and even if she was I don't believe she would be ready for any visitors."

"Please tell her I stopped by then. And tell her I do want to see her when she is feeling better."

Linna briefly considered sitting up and yelling out to them, except when she took a breath to speak the sharp knife-like jab she felt in her body stopped the notion cold.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Linna heard her mother add with a cautious tone.

"Why? I think the more visitors she gets the faster she will recover from whatever the injury is."

"Not this one."

The voices fell silent for a few moments as Linna tried to guess as to why her mother would be speaking like this.

"The doctors told us that because of her injuries she will never be able to bear children."

If not for Masaki's instant response, Linna's might have attempted to jump out of bed to strangle her mother for divulging her private matters.

"If you think that changes how I feel about her, then you would be severely misjudging my character," he spoke with a tone bordering on anger.

"Well, it is understandable to see why a man would think less of a woman he was courting given the circumstances, but I'm glad to hear that's how you feel right now. However,…"

Linna could 'hear' the scowl form across her mother's face by the shifting tone of her voice.

"…make sure of your intentions. Don't act on some half-witted scheme born of chivalry just to make life better for my daughter. Consider yourself warned…"

"I do. And don't forget to tell Linna I'll be back soon," Masaki added confidently with his voice trailing off through the walls.

Somehow Masaki's words spoke directly to her, even through the walls and through her mother. Linna opened her eyes to let the light shine into her, the warmth beginning to filter down into her soul, illuminating the darkness that just a few moments ago seemed overwhelmingly expansive. She gazed out of the window and into the bright sky, the light dancing on the leaves of trees just outside the house. Linna felt the urge to get up, to walk to the window and reach out to touch the leaves, feel their smooth texture on her skin.

However, she couldn't move much without help at the moment. That recollection pulled her back to the reality of the situation. Nonetheless, the glimmer of hope that was lit still flickered within her. With a strain of effort, she turned to one side and lifted the pillow she was lying on into more of an upright position… this way she wasn't flat on her back anymore. Her midsection flared with pain at the movement, but Linna gritted her teeth and pulled herself up. She resolved not to quit… to get out of bed and to get better, no matter how long it took or how much it hurt. She looked out of the window once again. Maybe there is a light at the end of this tunnel… she hoped to herself, thinking of the young man who was coming to see her again sometime soon.

* * *

The sunlight refracting on the ground formed into a million different rainbows across the scattered glass. The crunching of biker boots on the pavement echoed through the desolate area as the leather clad woman stomped over to the bike. She unlocked the chain holding it in place and fired up the overanxious engine, ready for some action after a long rest. It responded with a welcome roar that was quickly followed by the screech of tires as the red bike shot off towards the highway and into the bustling city above.

After a short few minutes of freedom on the open road, the bike pulled up in front of a small building in a seedy part of town. The rider dismounted, removing her red helmet and hanging it gently on one handle. She drifted into the sparsely populated pool hall, eyes shifting back and forth. Finally the brown globes fixed on her target, playing at a pool table towards the back of the open room. She approached him with an air of arrogance that kept any would-be troublemakers at bay, not that all of them didn't recognize her instantly anyway.

"Hey Maxon…" the woman interrupted during a particularly critical shot, causing the guitarist to push the white ball off its intended course and directly into a side pocket in the process.

"Damn… well there goes a thou' yen down ye' old side pocket!" he exclaimed, pounding the handle of the pool stick into the floor. The man looked up with a very unhappy frown under his nose until he recognized the voice's owner. "Priss babe! Long time no see!"

"Whatever… and stop calling me babe," she warned with dead seriousness.

"So what brings you to my breakfast hangout? I thought you usually slept until 3 in the afternoon…" he mockingly asked.

"Cut the crap. Just get Jaid and Fox to the studio in half and hour," she ordered, turning on one heel and walking to the exit, not bothering to wait for an acknowledgement.

"Right… no problem…" the guitarist trailed off the reply. Maxon had known Priss from the beginning of As Sekiria, so he instantly recognized the fact that something was very wrong. First off, she had never practiced before noon with the band. Secondly, she looked worse than he could ever remember… including when they had first met in that hospital years ago. Her normally pale skin was ghostly white and her cheeks were nearly black under the eyes. Thirdly, something about her mannerisms just said all the wrong things.

Maxon paid off his debts and headed out to round up the rest of the band. _I wonder if I'll get some answers in a half-hour… I wonder what her song selection's like at this time of the day…

* * *

_

"God… I can't believe it's midnight now…" Jaid croaked limply, staring at the clock hanging in the lounge area of the rented studio. He rubbed his sore right wrist to try and work out the kinks from extreme overuse. "… I've never played for twelve straight hours in my life… not even in high school."

"You mean when you were skipping school, right?" Fox added with a hint of tired sarcasm in his voice. The bassist slumped down in his spot on the bench across from the laid out drummer, worn out from the marathon jam session.

"Whatever… I just hope we're done now. My right ankle is all swollen up… bigger than my foot now… see!" he punctuated by lifting up his foot and pulling up his pant leg, showing off the sweaty hairy mass to his bandmates.

"Put that thing away you ape!" the similarly exhausted Maxon swore out, melting away in the lone chair pushed up to the table. "I'm not sure if we're done yet or not… I think Priss stopped in ye' ol' ladies room for a sec."

On cue the lead singer appeared from the lavatory's door, face shimmering from the cold water she had just splashed on it to try and keep herself going. She walked in front of the studio's entrance and looked expectantly over her shoulder at the sad-looking trio. "You guys coming or what?" Priss asked, voice nearly hoarse from the abuse she had heaped on it over the past half-day.

Jaid groaned something intelligible while Fox simply shook his head and looked down into the table. "How can you think about singing with your voice like that?" Maxon mumbled out in a semi-accusatory tone.

"Like what!' the brash woman shot back, vocal cords whimpering in pain even as she blocked it out of her mind.

"Never mind…"

"Look, are you cowards quitting on me or what?"

The trio looked at each other until Jaid and Fox stared down Maxon. He bowed his head in defeat and stood up from the table, walking over to face Priss. "Why don't we call it a night? We've got a gig tomorrow starting at nine and if we don't rest up now, we'll have to ditch so we don't embarrass ourselves."

A flash of anger crossed the singer's eyes before dying down in introspection. She took in a raspy breath and answered with a badly cracking voice. "Alright… but I want you all here at seven in the morning, got it!"

The three band members stared at her in disbelief, looking for any sign that this was some sick joke… it wasn't there.

"Make it ten at the earliest," Maxon attempted to barter.

"Eight… and I'll have replacement auditions for anyone not here by 8:30," she spoke with certain finality, pushing past Maxon and walking silently out the door. The trio sat in shock until they heard the familiar sound of Priss' bike starting up, followed shortly by the sound of the souped up engine roaring into the night.

"If she wasn't one of the hottest singers in this damn city, I'd seriously think about sleepin' in tomorrow," Fox commented dryly.

"She won't be if she keeps this up." Maxon was seriously concerned. Priss might seem reckless to the casual observer, but he knew how she treated her voice. It was her temple… her saving grace. She hardly ever drank, and never excessively. She never smoked or did much of anything that might harm her vocal cords. She was constantly drinking water or some other healthy fluid to keep them in tiptop shape. For Priss to be treating herself this way… it would be like letting himself go on a drug binge… the kind of thing one would do if on the verge of suicide.

The guitarist pulled out a cigarette from the pack and followed his friends out the door of the studio. They had an all too short night ahead of them with an even more difficult day ahead. The way things were heading right now, he wondered if Sekiria would survive to see the end of that day…

_To be continued…_


	13. Ch 13: Round and Round

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 13 – Round and Round

* * *

Priss stared up into the false-lit night sky from the lounge chair. The leather-clad body begged the singer to rest, slumping muscles crying for relief, eyelids threatening to close under the duress. There was no rest to be found in the former Knight Saber's mind however. Any attempt at sleep was soundly repelled by the subconscious demons of her recent (and not so recent) past. So her stubborn mind, never to be denied its will, simply refused to let her body sleep… rejecting all attempts to fall into a blissful slumber.

That didn't leave many outlets to help the struggling woman. Trashing boomers was out… she wasn't going to let Sylia control her life anymore. Riding her bike was out… her failing body was too unstable to control the two-wheeled beast for more than a few minutes at a time. That basically left her voice… the healing power of music… or at least until she had abused it to the brink of ruin yesterday.

Just humming felt like trying to swallow glass down her throat now. But she tried anyway. She couldn't help it. The harmony was the only thing keeping her awake anymore, _the only way I know I'm still alive _. So, Priss continued to choke down the shards as she played the songs in her head. After a few more minutes, she reached the end of a song… and paused… eyelids drifted shut as her mind shut down…

…allowing another nightmare to grab hold of her subconscious, eyes flying open with the first hints of daylight greeting them, lungs demanding raspy heaving breaths to recover, sweat coating her whole body, goose bumps covering her skin, hands almost violently twitching. With frustration overwhelming her, Priss screamed into the air as loud as she could… and instantly regretted it. Both shaking hands converged to attempt to comfort the fire in her throat. She staggered back inside the trailer and jerked open the refrigerator, pulling out the last bottle of water she had. She tried chugging it, but her throat was too sore. The singer coughed up almost half of the liquid as it hit the raw flesh inside, spilling out onto the dirt covered floor of the trailer.

She heaved the bottle disgustedly across the trailer and slumped over the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The latest dream… in her hardsuit… hitting Linna over and over… Linna's voice repeating over and over "_It's alright Priss, I forgive you…"_ her hardsuit not responding to her commands… continuing to hammer away at her teammate… "_I forgive you…"_

**_How can you forgive me when I can't even forgive myself!_**

She wanted to scream out the question loud enough for Linna to hear her, but she couldn't even whisper anymore. Priss' wheeled inside the trailer and punched the opposite wall as hard as she could muster in her weakened state… her lack of energy probably the only thing keeping her from breaking half the bones in her hand. As it was, she knocked off almost half the pictures fixed to the wall. One of them came to rest at her feet… a picture of her and Maxon.

Guilt instantly followed the recollection of everything about the picture. She had treated the band like dirt… they hadn't deserved any of it. She knew they would probably follow her to Hell and back if she asked… not that she _had asked_ their opinion in the matter. The problem was that was exactly where she was headed… and she knew it. But she didn't want to drag them down with her. They had all meant so much to each other the past couple of years… almost a family of sorts. The thoughts of the musical trio helped to calm her nerves somewhat. Times before she joined the Knight Sabers flipped through her mind. _Can I ever be carefree like that again? _

Priss sat down in a chair at her table and collected up the pictures, carefully placing them back on the wall one by one. _Whatever happens to me, I can't let them down… not today at least… _She hesitated as she noticed some writing on the back of one of the pictures. "_Recipe for a Fast Recovery… i.e. What every singer should memorize before partying all night"_ was the title scribbled at the top, followed by a list of various household items below it. Rubbing her throat cautiously with one hand, it didn't take long for the singer to make up her mind. _What the hell… can't make it much worse anyway. _She walked over to the sink and poured a glass of water. She continued to a cabinet with the 'recipe' in hand, where she mixed a concoction handed down across generations of vocalists in the local club circuits. Amazingly enough, she had all the ingredients in her nearly bare cabinets. Ready, she spent the next thirty minutes gargling with the cloudy potion, replenishing her supply of home-cooked medicine twice over. Afterwards her throat felt like sandpaper, but it was still a marked improvement. "Thanks," she was able to voice to the writing before hanging it back on the wall with the other pictures.

She grabbed some cash from one of her hiding spots inside the trailer and headed out to her bike. Once mounted, she headed into the city to try and make some amends for her past indiscretions. A few bagels and some coffee for starters, but I still need to sing… maybe a few acoustic ballads or something she decided.

* * *

Nene felt almost like a new woman after 36 hours of rest… not that she had much of a choice the way her whole body had ached from head to toe. Still she considered herself lucky just to be alive. Although she didn't think anything was broken, the pain she was in the day before was so bad at one point she even considered going to a doctor… until she imagined trying to explain the circumstances behind her injuries…

"_Well, you see… I'm a Knight Saber and… I was fighting this rouge boomer when… it pulled me out of a building… then my hardsuit battery died… so I fell about thirty stories or so and landed flat on my back…" _Nene could imagine the doctor fainting over while watching a nurse call the psychiatric ward…

So, she had continued to pop pills and watch mind numbing daytime TV. The hacker would have much preferred to catch up on some surfing… except when she had fired up the PC, her power-supply smoked. _Can anything else go wrong? _she had thought to herself at the time. She was too sore to even think about heading out to a store to replace it, assuming it was just the power supply. Nene had so many barely legal add-ons hooked up to the contraption there was no telling where the fault actually was. She probably had enough spare parts to put together another complete computer, but without a working power supply, it didn't matter much.

To make matters worse, she couldn't call anyone to ask for help. The one phone she had in the house was in pieces… miscellaneous parts scavenged for a pet project to upgrade her 3D accelerator card. The other phone she owned was shattered from the hospital collision she had been involved in after visiting Linna. She hadn't had any time to replace it yet with everything that had happened since then. Now she needed to get a replacement phone, a new power supply, and to replenish her drug supply too. _Maybe I should ask Sylia for a raise… _she had joked to herself the day before.

The TV programming didn't provide enough in the way of a distraction to keep her mentally sane, so the bedridden teenager had let her mind wander. Her conscious thoughts were filled with the young boy she had become so preoccupied with. Mackey was so intriguing in many ways, but Nene couldn't decide exactly what it was about him that attracted her so. In the end, she had just let herself fantasize about him, about his past, about spending more time with him… not exactly a healthy way to spend a day, but it did make the time go by a bit faster, she recalled.

She sat up and stretched her arms out, noting the various aches and pains being much more tolerable now than 24 hours ago. She noted the time… "Four hours before I start the next shift… enough time to hit the stores and get my baby back on line!" she announced to Uprio-chan keeping a watchful eye over her from the nightstand.

She jumped up out of bed excitedly… only to scream out in pain, falling back into the bed. "Owowowowow…" the girl cried out in agony, rolling side to side while holding onto her right hamstring. After a few minutes of spastic torture, the leg muscle began to relax enough for her to try pushing up to an upright position. Slowly she limped towards the shower, still determined to get to the store and get on with life. "Guess I'd better take it easy for a while," she cautioned herself out loud.

With deliberate motions, the blond haired girl started the cleansing water flowing over her body, letting the pulsing fluid work its magic on her knotted muscles as well. After an extra few minutes of liquid therapy, she was ready to carefully get dressed and head out to the shops. Taking stock of her physical condition Nene thought she would be OK as long as nothing out of the ordinary happened to her… "After everything that's happened, what else could go wrong?" she asked Uprio-chan innocently as she headed out the door, limping slightly on her right leg.

* * *

Linna very reluctantly gave up sleep to find a tangled mass of sweat-coated sheets stuck to her body. She cursed out a brief sigh, biting on one finger. She ran the other hand up the side of her body, caressing her skin through the sheets. Her face was flush, heart thumping hard in her chest, skin tingling from the dream she couldn't jump back into no matter how much she wanted for it not to end. The latest dream wasn't a nightmare… quite the opposite in fact.

Linna tried desperately to hang on to the memories of her subconscious desires…She was back in the hospital in Tokyo… Priss was in the room with her… apologizing to her again… Linna wanted to tell her it was OK… she was going to be OK, somehow… "_maybe together, we can get through this,"_ Priss had told her… then… the leather-clad woman walked to her side, placing one hand soothingly over her bandage… the other took hold of Linna's hand … she drew Priss in close with that hand… she took note of every detail on her face… her hard cheeks, teardrops falling across them… soft lips, slightly quivering… her eyes, open wide to bear her soul to Linna… Linna pulled her closer, lifting her hands to gently hold each side of the singer's face, wiping away tears with shaking fingers… closer still, with lips slightly parted from the expectation of contact… then… she had passed the brink of consciousness. _So close… so very close… and yet… _

Linna knew what she wanted… and in a way it terrified her. The ramifications of her feelings hit hard, shaking the foundation of what she had been taught growing up. _But why Priss? Why not Masaki, or someone else? _she asked herself. She already knew the answer in part. Priss wasn't here… in this town… she wasn't part of her old life. Priss represented a free spirit… willing to fight the system and be the rebel that Linna wanted to be at least partially like. _But could that alone add up to what I feel for her? _

_Maybe it's that medicine Grandma made yesterday… _she tried to explain to herself. But in the end, it didn't really matter why. Linna had no idea, she just knew the way she felt… the direction her emotions pulled her heart… the direction she was so willing to follow… except that path was blocked now.

Here she was, bedridden and back at home. Linna moved one arm to cover the fresh bandage applied to her midsection, causing her to remember the part of her that lay eternally dormant now. Her life changed forever because of events of one single night. Linna hadn't planned too far in advance when she took off for Tokyo, which turned out to be a good thing now. Whatever ideas she may have had about life after the Knight Sabers were all but gone. Of course, that realization provided a bit of relief in the fact she now had a clean slate to work with. No more expectations of offspring she had to provide for her parents… no more family obligations to live up to. But it still hurt… no matter what kind of twisted logic she tried to spin it with. _But what can I do now? _

Linna was faced with the question of where to go from here. She could always go back to Tokyo and work for Hugh Geit. She knew she was really fooling herself if she did that without rejoining the Knight Sabers though. Hugh Geit was nothing more than a ruse to conceal the truth from her parents… to hide her true ambitions. The larger problem was the change in those ambitions. _I'm not sure if I even want to be a Knight Saber anymore… Priss isn't there now, and all I did was get in the way mostly anyhow, _depressed thoughts clouded her outlook as they returned to the forefront of her mind.

When Linna had first traveled to Tokyo, she only knew of the Knight Sabers as faceless people in power armor. There was an aura of mystery and intrigue that accompanied that image. However, with the Sabers unmasked, a new image replaced the old one. The image she saw more clearly than any other was of Priss. With that image came a connection… a spark provided by way of the accident. Whatever else that may had happened that night, the one thing she remembered was Priss' voice… a calm and soothing voice filled with more emotion than just concern. Linna knew it… from her dreams and also from recollections of the events at the hospital. But her fear was the connection was broken now… or perilously close to it.

She regretted the instant decision to leave Tokyo now. But with her parents there, what real choice did she have. Priss probably wouldn't have come to see her with her parents at her side anyway. _It's not like she works at the office or anything so we could talk about something other than the Knight Sabers. _And without the Knight Sabers, what did they really have in common anyway? But her heart wouldn't stop at that. She still wanted to try to talk with Priss somehow.

Linna looked around her room for inspiration. _Maybe a letter? I've got her address somewhere… _she thought, before deciding it was too slow and her handwriting while lying flat on her back wouldn't be legible anyway. _Maybe I'll call her? _That idea died quickly with a surprising fear of live communication with the moody woman. Linna looked over at the keyboard from her computer that her mother had set up for her. _E-mail! _Something about that medium seemed to feel right to her. Priss had quickly answered the E-mailed question about spending the night with her and Nene that one time, she recalled.

That decided, Linna quickly turned on the computer from her keyboard before she could change her mind. When the computer finished it's startup sequence a few seconds later, she was about to open the E-mail editor until she recognized the background image… two Knight Sabers flying through the sky from a fair distance off. The fact that the background image was of the Knight Sabers didn't surprise her at all. While searching for information on the vigilantes before she had left for Tokyo, she found a few web sites that claimed to have actual images of the mystery group. She picked some of those pictures and used them as wallpaper on her computer… but not the one she was looking at now. That picture showed two Knight Sabers… one being blue… the other _green_.

_Could mom have done this? _Her parents weren't exactly the poster couple for _Wired World_ magazine, but her mother at least knew how to turn a PC on. She wasn't so sure about her father. Still, why would she have changed the background on the computer… unless… _But why didn't she say anything when I came back before?_ It just didn't add up. Her hand reflexively moved the cursor over the slightly fuzzy image of the Blue Saber, tracing the curved outline of the armor against the dark sky. The action helped to remind her why she had turned on the computer in the first place. Distractedly, Linna started the E-mail program and waited… and waited… Finally when it was done loading, her eyes nearly popped out of her head… "452 unread messages! I knew I missed some people with my E-mail address change, but 452!"

Linna scrolled through the list briefly before one of the E-mails caught her eye. It was from the _Knight Shadows _webmaster… subject – Subscription Cancellation. "Of Course!" One of the web sites she frequented automatically uploaded new wallpaper to her PC every week as part of the subscription package… for a small fee of course. Linna had forgotten about that site until the E-mail reminder jogged her memory. _That must be how the wallpaper got changed… _

That mystery explained to her satisfaction, Linna open a new E-mail, typed in Priss' address, added a simple "_Hi There!" _into the subject line, typed in "_Dear Priss,"_ … and then proceeded to stare at the blinking cursor for the next ten minutes. It's not that she didn't know what to say… more that she couldn't decide on how to say it. She thought back to the last time that they had seen each other at the hospital… of the question she had started to ask at the time. _"Priss, have you ever thought about me as more than just a teammate… maybe even more than just a friend?" _… the question she never got the chance to finish. It didn't feel right typing it in now, however. She still wasn't sure why Priss had left after she had fainted, although she had her suspicions. She had to try and find out for sure. _Maybe it's just a misunderstanding, _she encouraged herself.

Linna typed in a few simple thoughts onto the computer screen and read them back to herself. "No… no… not like that…" she said pressing the delete button. Trying again, she typed in a few new sentences… then deleted those as well. "Let's just start off small. I'll wait for a response and go from there." She typed again… this time some brief notes about being at home, getting better, and thinking of Tokyo. She read it back a couple of times, made a few small grammar changes, and did a quick spell check. Then she signed the message almost thoughtlessly and sent it out… before realizing the way she had signed it…

"_Miss you,"_

"_Linna"_

"Oops…" Quickly she tried to recall the message before it was too late. The program instantly communicated the results of her attempt… "_Message Recall Failed,"_ it read back to her. _Damn servers! Now what do I do? _

She had purposely stayed away from personal feelings on the first E-mail, more intent on establishing contact rather than risk chasing Priss away. Linna was still afraid that the reason Priss left the hospital was from an adverse reaction to her kiss. _Well, I could always wait and see what she says… _But that idea just didn't sit well for some reason. I'd better try and explain myself … before she reads it and then adds me to her spam list…

So, Linna hurriedly typed another E-mail, then sent it out immediately… assuming worst case that Priss would be reading the first E-mail as she typed. Afterwards, she proofread what she had just sent out… and nearly fainted when she did. "_I dream about you sometimes…"_ It made her sound more like a lovesick puppy than anything else. Images of Priss laughing hysterically at her computer filled Linna's distraught mind.

"_Oh God_… now what?" She frantically started yet another E-mail and began typing furiously. Her fingers didn't stop typing for the next hour as she poured her soul into characters on the screen to her side. She finished with a small note below her name…

_"I still want to be part of your life, even without the Knight Sabers."_

Linna checked her inbox to see if by chance Priss had already responded to her earlier E-mails. Her inbox still read "452" with no replies from the singer. Somewhat relieved, she returned to the marathon E-mail and sent the message out. Linna sighed heavily, dropping the keyboard off to the side of the bed. "All I can do now is wait." She studied the plain white ceiling for a while, holding her midsection and thinking of Priss. She tried once again to recall the events of that night… but the memories still hid from her conscious mind. "I still have no idea what really happened. Did I screw up that badly?" Thinking of the battle jogged her mind to another topic she needed to address.

Weary, she lifted the keyboard back up, noting the dull ache in her abdomen seeming to flare up from the exertion… or the stress perhaps. She started yet another E-mail… this one addressed to a different recipient.

"_Dear Nene,"_ she started to type. This E-mail was much easier to compose than the one she had just sent. Then again, Linna couldn't see how anything would be more difficult than confessing her feelings for Priss…

* * *

The young ADP dispatcher sat gingerly down in the workstation chair, careful not to aggravate the myriad of sore spots she was still nursing. Starting up her computer terminal, she let out a brief shout at the recognition of an incoming E-mail. "Linna!" Both of Nene's hands flew to cover her mouth, recalling the last time she had been caught mentioning her name in front of Leon. She peeked around to make sure no one else had noticed, and then excitedly opened the E-mail with a huge grin on her face. Slowly however, the grin began to sag… face turning neutral. A few moments later, her mouth was a deep frown, shoulders beginning to sink as well. Upon finishing the message, Nene barely had the strength to close the form and forward the note along to Sylia as requested.

Hearing it from the Knight Saber's leader was one thing… reading it directly from the source hit home a lot harder. _Linna's probably never coming back… _She hadn't said the words directly in the message, but that's the way it read between the lines. Just breathing became difficult for the troubled teenager, who felt years older now than she had just a few short days ago.

Slowly she rose up from her chair and walked with heavy steps up to an empty break room. Nene grabbed a cup of hot cocoa and curled up into the vacant couch. She nursed the cup for a time, staring down into the floor in front of her, forgetting about the job she was supposed to be doing at the time… until a certain person reminded her of that duty.

"Aren't we supposed to be working right now Ms. Romanova?"

The voice brought Nene back to reality instantly as she looked up into the mischievous eyes of Leon. "Wha… Oh Leon-poo… it's just you. Don't scare me like that! I thought it was the section chief or something!"

"If you don't stop calling me that, I'll tell him just where you've been for the last thirty minutes."

"You wouldn't… THIRTY minutes?" she exclaimed. "I haven't been here that long, have I?"

"I passed by here a half hour ago and noticed you there. Your cup's not as full now and you haven't moved otherwise, have you?"

Nene bowed her head, acknowledging the verbal reprimand from her co-worker. "I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all," the dispatcher tried to explain.

"It's not about Priss is it?"

_Not exactly. _Nene couldn't answer out loud because there was too much running through her head to sort out what Leon should know and what he couldn't. Add to that fact that Nene still hadn't heard anything from Priss directly and she just didn't know what to tell the inquisitive man in front of her.

"Well?"

"I still haven't heard from her if that's what you're asking."

"Aren't you worried about her?"

"Yes…" Nene answered quickly before indecision halted her train of though once more.

"I've heard that Sekiria has a show tonight… think she'll show up?" Leon asked, verbally circling around the topic he wanted to bring up.

"I don't know. If I knew more about what was going on with her, then maybe I'd have a better feel for whether she'll be there or not. She never misses a show on purpose though…"

"Really? I'd heard rumors she ditched quite a few for no apparent reason… You wouldn't happen to know what those reasons were, would you?"

"Um… No… I mean, I'm sure they were _perfectly understandable_ reasons at the time…"

"Speaking of reasons…" Leon said getting back to the point that was really bugging him, "… what was the reason you were looking up files on someone named Linna the other day?"

Nene flinched at the sore spot she was still smarting from in her mind before answering quickly with the story she had fabricated at the time. "The chief asked me to check on some files for him… I couldn't find them though."

"Really," the ADP officer replied unconvinced of the truth of the last statement. "That person wouldn't have been named Linna Yamazaki, would it?"

_Uh Oh. _"Um, actually I don't remember…"

Leon leaned in close with a scowl forming on his face. "Come on Nene, cut the crap. I know Linna was friends with Priss… and you are friends with Priss… so just level with me, OK?"

"Wha… How did you…" Nene stammered as she leaned as far back into the cushion of the couch and away from Leon as she could.

Leon stood back up as he explained. "A friend of Daily's overheard some conversations about that boomer incident around Hugh Geit a few days ago. When we checked it out, we found out that someone named Linna Yamazaki was hurt in that incident and transported to Kanto Memorial. When we started questioning the staff, a couple of them also mentioned a certain person by the name of Priscilla Yamazaki. Turns out that Priscilla Yamazaki was none other than Priss, who was pretty upset about Linna's injuries for some reason. My guess is she is either related to Linna somehow, or they are just good friends." Leon's tone took a very accusatory tone with the next question he asked. "So what can you add to the story… since the chief didn't recall asking you to look up any files on anyone named _Linna._"

Nene's face was stone frozen in shock. She couldn't begin to think about how to talk her way out of this situation. _At least he didn't ask about the fake pass… _

"While you're thinking about that, I don't suppose you'd know how to forge a hospital pass would you? I was pretty surprised to find the doctor so convinced that the name he saw on Priss' badge read Yamazaki and not Asagiri," he said with a growing smirk across his lips. Leon was immensely enjoying this torture.

Nene's face wasn't frozen anymore… her eyes widened out even more, eyebrows beginning to twitch. She stared at the floor, unable to look the larger ADP officer in the eye anymore. _It can't get any worse… maybe I'll only be in jail until I'm fifty… _

Leon realized he wasn't going to get any answers if he kept up the pressure this way. He turned his head towards the wall as he tried to lower the tension level in the break room a bit. "Daily thought I was crazy, you know. We started out looking for clues on the Knight Sabers and wound up finding Priss instead."

Luckily for Nene, Leon was too self-absorbed at the moment to notice she had nearly choked on her own tongue, gulping hard at the mention of the Knight Sabers.

"He thought I was having some delusional fantasy… thinking Priss was really the Blue Saber since that one had saved my ass a couple of times in the last month. Guess he's right about that… if Priss was really that blue one, I'd be dead right now anyway."

"Ha… right… that's ridiculous Leon-poo. Priss… a Knight Saber," she fake laughed hard enough to convince the already smarting Leon, who was still recalling Daily's own laughing fit at his expense.

His normally calm and cool partner had lost it when Leon had informed him that their 'lead' at the hospital turned out to be a Hugh Geit employee who just happened to be a friend of Priss.

"_You even have her picture in your wallet?"_ Daily had mocked him at the time, when Leon had shown him just how he had found out the truth.

"Is that a crime?" 

"_Not unless you start following her down dark alleyways or something,"_ Daily had said jokingly, not realizing how close to home that hit.

Leon scratched the back of his head at the memory of the painful jab, turning back towards the loosened up ADP dispatcher and recalling his earlier question. "So, what can you add that I don't already know Ms. Romanova?"

Nene decided to stick to the story and not divulge any more than she had to, Leon was already way to close to the truth than she wanted. "If I do tell you what I know, do you promise to forget the fake pass?"

Leon smiled, as his bargaining chip seemed to pay off. "Alright. But if I find out you're still hiding something from me…"

Nene hid her concerns behind a smile of her own. "I promise to tell you what I know…" she said with one hand behind her back… two shaking fingers crossed both for the truth she had to hide as well as for luck that Leon wouldn't discover the lies.

* * *

Priss slumped back into the chair of her dressing room completely drained of whatever energy she had left. Even with shortening the set by a few songs, she barely had enough strength to keep going. The singer had even resorted to using a stool to sit on at one point. As bad as it must have looked on stage, Priss knew her voice must have sounded worse.

Even with the mystery treatment that had the rest of the band shaking their heads at the miraculous recovery, it still hadn't been enough to completely cure the ills. _Just a temporary fix, _she had acknowledged to herself when the pain returned during pre-show rehearsals. She had tried to take it easy all day, but found that she still couldn't stop singing. She didn't force the band to join in… but they had anyway. "…_to Hell and back…" _She knew they were sore from the abusing sessions of the day before, but they stayed by her side, supporting her in the only way they knew how. It had helped… maybe not quite enough, but it was still something.

The show provided another side benefit. Priss became so focused on not disappointing her bandmates, that she had temporarily forgotten her past problems with the Knight Sabers and Linna. The beginnings of closure had revealed themselves through the performance as the singer had left everything she had on stage.

After a few more minutes of rest, Priss dragged herself up and out to her waiting bike… the upcoming drive home looking more like a trip to China rather than the few kilometers it actually was. She mounted the bike and reached for her helmet… until an unwelcome voice broke into her routine.

"Are you sure you're going to make it home like that?"

Priss didn't look back at Leon. She picked up her helmet and prepared to put it on, feigning ignorance over her overzealous 'fan'.

"Look, I know what it's like to have a friend hurt by one of those monsters out there."

The helmet stopped its rise as the meaning of Leon's words began to play in Priss' mind. Still astride her bike, she put the helmet back down and turned her head towards the tall man still standing in the shadows. "What?"

"I know this sounds like snooping, but I found out about you visiting Linna Yamazaki at the hospital the other day. The doctor probably wouldn't have remembered you except for the few missing teeth his co-worker has now. Anyway, seeing you like this… I know it can be hard…"

"You don't know shit!" Priss yelled out, voice cracking and straining audibly from the effort, dismounting and facing the startled ADP officer.

"Maybe I don't. But I've had more than my fair share of friends get hurt or worse by boomers…" Leon wasn't quite done talking, but he had to stop since Priss had jumped at him with strength he didn't think she had left in her.

_"It wasn't the goddamn Boomer!"_ the crazed woman screamed as she charged forward, knocking the bigger man to the ground with a shoulder to his chest. Standing over him with her right fist raised up ready to pound away at any moment. The returning pain in her throat caused her to stop as Priss realized just how close she was to losing it completely.

Leon couldn't move. It wasn't Priss' weight or positioning that was pinning him down… it was the silhouette of her form against the false-lit sky above. The outline was frighteningly familiar, freezing his body to the ground.

Priss face sank from fury to exhaustion, right hand dropped to her throat, trying to sooth the burning vocal cords inside. She turned away from the fallen man and trudged back to her bike. The singer mounted the red machine, donned her helmet, and drove off into the night, leaving the very shaken Leon in her wake.

After a few minutes of retrospection, he stood up and brushed himself off. Looking down the now empty alleyway, he mentally recalled the image forever burned in his memory now. The berserker like rage in Priss' eyes, fist drawn up to strike down into the heart of her enemy… there was no mistaking the resemblance anymore in his mind.

Leon superimposed a mental image of the Blue Saber over the top of Priss' enraged form… it was a perfect fit. "Maybe I am crazy," he told the shadows. With no real proof, all Leon had to go on was his suspicions. The last words from Priss played in his mind though "_It wasn't the goddamn Boomer!"_… just what did she mean by that? Those thoughts intermixed with those of this Linna person, and Nene as well. Just how much of her story was he to believe now?

Leon walked over to his bike, parked a few blocks down from the club. He had some serious questions to answer in his mind. How far would he go to find the truth? If he did find proof, what to do with it? More importantly, what were his real motivations right now, considering the woman he had in his sights was also a wanted vigilante… or at least used to be until a few nights ago. Somehow he had to find out what happened that night. But, after carefully considering the normal avenues of assistance he utilized… Leon decided he was going to have to find out on his own.

_To be continued…_


	14. Ch 14: Family Secrets

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 14 – Family Secrets

* * *

Nene tossed the headphones down onto the console with a huff. "I can't remember the last time I was this busy for a whole shift," she said, standing up from the chair and stretching out the kinks. Since finishing the 'explanation' to Leon about Linna and Priss, she was more than ready for just another boring night of work… until the first frantic calls came in sending the ADP into a frenzy of activity that lasted the entire night. 

The blond haired girl yawned as she walked out of the "totem pole", turning at first towards home until remembering Sylia's E-mail requesting her presence after work. _I hope it's short this time… I'm pooped_ Deciding she was too tired (and sore still) to walk all the way to Sylia's, she caught a bus instead that left her just a couple of blocks away from her destination. Her right hamstring had tightened up some on the bus, causing her to limp the rest of the way to the Lady 633 building. She reached the pit a few minutes later, gingerly exiting the elevator to find Sylia and Mackey waiting on her.

"Glad you could make it Nene," Sylia cheerily spoke as she directed the young girl over to the enormous gun-like device on display.

"Hi Sylia. Hi Mackey," Nene piped in. The fact that Mackey was there made her aching body feel a little more at ease immediately.

"Hi," the young boy answered half-heartedly, as if something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"What's wrong?" Nene asked innocently.

"Oh… nothing really. There's just something we need to talk about after Sylia's through, that's all."

"Oh, OK then," Nene replied with a confused look on her face. Mackey's words and his body language told two different stories, but Nene wasn't sure which one to believe yet.

"If you two are finished for now, I'd like to get this over with. I'm sure our young Saber has some rest she would like to catch up on before we start the search in the morning."

"This morning? Did Nigel already finish fixing the hardsuits?"  
"For the most part…. For what we are doing, however, we won't be needing full combat readiness just yet."

"What are we searching for?" Nene asked. She was surprised to see the disturbing look of despair cross Sylia's face at the question. Nene looked over at Mackey who had a similar look of dread in his eyes as well, breaking eye contact with her as soon as she looked at him. "What is it?"

"It's something potentially very dangerous," Sylia finally answered. "Unfortunately I don't have all the details just yet, but this device will enable us to detect this phenomenon from about 100 meters away."

"Phenomenon? Sounds kind of mysterious…" Nene started before Sylia cut her off.

"I really can't go into too many more details about it just yet. Let's cover the search plan and execution of the search though."

Nene wasn't sure why Sylia seemed to be avoiding the question so much, but she was still tired from the long day at work and wasn't much in the mood to argue with her. For the next fifteen minutes, she listened to Sylia, but was somewhat distracted by Mackey's comment about talking to her about something else.

"So I'll see you at six then?" Sylia asked, expecting Nene to answer her question.

"Wha… oh, six… sure… Hey wait! I'm working the evening shift. I can't get off that early!"

"Sorry, I thought you understood when I said "in the morning" earlier. That's six A.M."

"You're kidding right?"

Sylia answered with a sadistic smile back at her.

Nene looked over at the clock and began to count in her head. "Only four hours of sleep? oh god…"

"If it's too much for you…" Sylia baited, once again counting on the teenager's inexperience to pull her into doing her will.

"No… no. I'll be here. You might have to call me to make sure I'm up, but I'll be here. I know how important this is for you," she said, looking away as the teenager recalled the chewing out Sylia had given her after the previous boomer incident.

"Oh, one other thing… did I mention that you're pay will be double the normal rate for this job?"

"Double! Um, no… I think I'd remember if you said that before," she cheerily answered, a tired smile pushing out from behind her exhausted expression.

"Good. Now that's settled, I believe you and Mackey had some business to discuss." Sylia walked out of the pit, leaving the two teenagers alone for the first time since she had a 'talk' with the young Stingray.

"Umm… Nene, I just wanted to…" Mackey started to say before the blond girl stopped his train of thought by walking directly up to him and pulling him into a gentle hug, placing a soft kiss on his cheek for good measure.

"I'm sorry Mackey," Nene whispered into his ear, still holding on to him, reluctant to give up the embrace.

Mackey didn't exactly want to break the contact either, but still had other things on his mind. "Why? What for?" the confused boy said trying to regain his momentum.

"For those mean things I said about you the other day. I was tired and you were probably right anyway. I know you weren't trying to stab me in the back or anything," she apologized, finally pulling herself away from the other teen.

"Ohhh. Yeah, that. Well, I could have been a bit nicer about it I suppose," he added.

"That's Ok. Would you like to go up to the lounge to talk for a while?"

"No…" he declined, drawing a look of disappointment from the young girl. "… I just need to talk to you for a minute about something."

Nene took a step back, stretching out a brief yawn as she steadied herself. "What's on your mind?"

Too much he thought to himself, before starting on his rehearsed speech. "Look, I know this will be hard to accept… but I want to tell you the truth. I don't want to hide anything from you."

"Hide what?"

"There are some things about me that are… well…" he began to falter under the pressure of what he had to say.

"What things?" Nene asked, becoming more concerned by the moment.

"…well… different."

Nene just stared at him for a minute, trying to guess at just what he was trying to get at.

Mackey could sense her unease and approached Nene, taking both her hands in his own. "I want to tell you everything now, but… I can't."

"Why not?"

He gently squeezed her hands, trying to reassure her despite his own fears about the path he was choosing to take.

"I want to tell you now, but Sylia thinks that it would be a distraction from the mission. So I promised her I would wait until this was over."

"But I don't understand. What could be so important to have to wait."

"There are things about my past that I just can't tell you right now." The boy took a deep breath, deciding to jump in with both feet. "Promise me you won't ask… Please?"

The near desperation in his voice struck home in Nene's heart. "Don't ask about your past?" Mackey simply nodded a short confirmation. Her curious tendencies were tingling in the back of her head, but she found it difficult to refuse his forward request. Still, one concern kept her from agreeing to the odd question. "I want to promise you, but you're admitting to hiding things from me… how can I trust you?"

It was the question Mackey himself had been wrestling with for the last two days before agreeing to Sylia's suggestion. He still didn't have a good answer to give her, and he could see the way it was beginning to tear their budding relationship apart. Since words failed him, he responded the only way that he could think of… pulling gently on Nene's hands, Mackey drew her in and quickly met her lips with his own.

The blond haired girl was momentarily caught off guard by the sudden motion. However, his tenderness relaxed her stance as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back to welcome his advance a few seconds later.

After a brief time, they both reluctantly broke the contact. Mackey took a step back and looked into Nene's eyes, just opened to gaze into his own. He saw the only real answer he needed in them. "I've never felt anything like this before… and I don't want to do anything that would hurt you." He gathered the teenager into a warm hug and held on, whispering in her ear as he did. "Please… for me… just wait a few days and I'll tell you anything you want to know. Just be patient for a little while."

Nene melted into his embrace, unable to resist any longer. She returned the hug as she whispered back into his ear. "I promise. But when this is all over, don't hold anything back."

"I won't." His simple reply the last words they spoke for a long time as the couple stayed in the shared embrace… until Nene's sore legs began to give out on her.

Mackey felt the young girl grow heavy in his arms as her legs buckled. Still he supported her as he spoke. "Are you OK?" He saw his answer in the pain written across her face as she stood back and tried to support her own weight, right leg partially giving out as she did. Mackey shifted around to loop Nene's right arm over his shoulder, holding the exhausted ADP officer upright. "Why don't you stay in Sylia's guest room tonight. You're in no shape to walk back to your place like this."

Nene thought for a brief second about politely refusing, before the twitching pain in her right leg convinced her otherwise. "If you're sure she won't mind…"

"I know she won't. Besides, this way you can get back an hour of sleep by not having to travel back and forth to your apartment."

"Are you sure you're not just looking for an excuse to have me sleep here with you?"

"What? Why would you…" he started before the double meaning donned on his young mind. The bright crimson color in his face nearly lit up the room as Nene giggled merrily at the exaggerated physical response.

"Sorry. . I just couldn't help myself. You don't think like that…"she started to state before doubting herself "… um… do you?" The fact she had to ask the question made her realize how little she really knew about Mackey.

"No, I hadn't really thought about… us… in that way," Mackey's inexperienced mind struggled with just the right words.

The confirmation… and Mackey's rather innocent way of handling the topic… helped to calm any lingering fears that Nene had. The two slowly made their way up to one of Sylia's guest rooms, Mackey leaving Nene momentarily to arrange everything for her temporary stay… with Sylia's eager assistance.

After a few minutes, Mackey gave one last goodnight kiss to Nene and left the weary girl to sleep somewhat comfortably in the unfamiliar room.

* * *

Sylia closed the E-mail and sighed. She knew Linna would be hurting, but she didn't expect her to quit that easily. Not that she had said she would never come back, but that's the way the E-mail read to her, and she was sure Nene took it the same way. She partly admonished herself for not making sure Linna had her own E-mail address so she wouldn't have to have Nene 'forward' the message to her. At least that way she could have filtered out some of the rather depressing details about Linna's condition. Sylia desperately needed Nene to maintain her focus, and any distractions were to be avoided if possible. The main problem wasn't Linna though… it was with Mackey.

Sylia understood his noble reasoning for at least telling Nene what he could… she just wasn't sure how much she trusted Nene not to poke around anyway… especially if she knew Mackey was hiding something from her. The hacker's skills were the reason Sylia had recruited her in the first place… somewhat ironic that now they were the biggest fear Sylia had right now. She wasn't sure what Nene could dig up on Mackey's (or for that matter her own) past, but if she was motivated enough… That was the reason she insisted on having Mackey make Nene commit to waiting. A promise could always be broken, but Sylia was betting that Nene wouldn't be willing to break that promise… especially if it was for Mackey. She inwardly smiled at a picture of the couple together for a moment, before the dark cloud of reality settled over her mental image. A disturbing scenario began to play out in her mind as the truth of what would likely happen threatened to shatter the image. She furiously derailed that train of thought, clinging to the slim possibility that everything could work out for the best in the end. "Dammit, he deserves happiness too! This isn't his fault… none of this… his fault… _Father_…" Sylia slumped over the console and let her thoughts wander back to her morbid past for a few minutes.

A signaling beep recalled her thoughts to the present as another message appeared on the transparent screen in front of her. Her heart jumped at the recognition of the sender. She quickly scanned the message… and found her heart sinking back into despair once again…

"_Sylia,_

_Same old problems as before. Just can't keep a team together. Wish I could say I felt sorry for you. BUT I DON'T! You'll never learn, will you. I can't believe you would actually ask for our help. No, I take that back. You are selfish enough to ask. Well, here's your answer from both of us…_

_NO WAY IN HELL!_

_We would rather have our skin peeled off our bodies than put on another hardsuit for you (Katsumi's words, not mine… although I completely agree with her)._

One more thing… DON'T EVER CONTACT US AGAIN! Can't you leave us alone? Haven't you done enough damage already? Just when Kat was starting to sleep through the night again… DAMN YOU SYLIA!

_Goodbye forever,_

_Jill"_

A small smile crept onto Sylia's worn face. "At least Jill is still as feisty as ever…" She expected nothing less that this for her answer, but she took some solace in the response anyway. "At least they seem to have each other." Sylia filed the E-mail away and leaned back into the chair, staring through the screen and back to the past once more, her thoughts filled with the former Knight Sabers of the distant (and not so distant) past. She soon realized that sleep would not find her on this night either.

* * *

To Nene, it felt like she had just closed her eyes when the lights automatically turned on, rousing her from the short rest. She looked over at the clock by the bed to find it was already 6:00 a.m., although to her body it still felt like yesterday. She pulled the covers over her head and lay in bed for a couple of minutes before a sharp knock on the door followed by Sylia's expectant voice ended any hopes of more recovery time.

"Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes Nene. I want to be underground before seven this morning."

"I'll be right there Mother!" she shot out sarcastically from under the covers.

Sylia answered with a giggle through the still closed door. "If you're not, I might just have to come in there and _spank_ you…"

Some very frightening images crossed Nene's barely awake mind, immediately bringing her senses to full alert. She sprung out of bed like a shot, running frantically about the room to gather up her borrowed items for her morning shower… all while Sylia's nearly maniacal laughter trailed off down the hallway.

_God she worries me some times… I hope she doesn't keep this up _Unfortunately, the wakeup call was a routine she would repeat with worsening consequences for the next three days…

* * *

"It's almost lunch time. Aren't you getting out of bed today?" Misa Yamazaki called out through the closed door to her daughter's bedroom. Without waiting for a reply, she opened the door only to find Linna neither in her bed nor in her room as she expected. After inspecting the room to try and determine her whereabouts, Misa noticed the computer monitor on… and the background image displayed on the screen. "Oh! I thought I fixed that…" she whispered to herself, looking around quickly to make sure Linna wasn't hiding in the closet or around a corner to overhear her slip up. _Too late to do anything about it now… although it might explain some of her behavior the last couple of days _

She walked out of the bedroom, growing more concerned as she mentally reviewed the possible reasons for her daughter's disappearance. "Linna! Linna!" she yelled through the house, becoming a bit frantic when she didn't answer. The house wasn't big enough or soundproof enough for her not to hear Misa's voice… as long as Linna was conscious. Images of her daughter lying alone and helpless filled her overprotective mind as Misa ran out of the front door and began to circle the property. Rounding a back corner of the house, she stopped and breathed a huge sigh of relief at the sight of Linna standing upright. She was leaning up against a tree, bottle of water in one hand, dressed in shorts and a plain yellow sleeveless shirt, athletic shoes on her feet. Her back was facing her mother, apparently looking out at the countryside. Misa could tell by the direction she was looking and the way she was dressed just what Linna had on her mind.

"You know you just started walking around again yesterday. Don't you think it's a bit soon to start running again?"

Linna turned her head around startled by her Mother's voice. She tried to turn her feet around but one foot caught on a root above ground, throwing her upper body off balance. The still recovering woman stumbled towards her mother, but managed to keep herself upright, bracing one hand against the tree to help. Unfortunately she paid dearly for her clumsiness. The yellow shirted woman groaned out a cry while doubling over in momentary agony, both arms converging over her midsection.

"Linna! I knew you would do this to yourself!" Misa yelled out to her daughter while running to her aid. She reached her just as Linna was attempting to stand up again. "Just take it easy, please!"

"I'm fine Mom," Linna gritted out through the pain. She knew she wasn't, but lying in bed or even staying in the house wasn't helping her one bit right now.

She had watched her inbox expectantly for the first day after sending out the three E-mail's to Priss… and received no response. Halfway through the second day she had had enough waiting. She tried to call the reclusive singer… only to get her voice mail instead. She didn't leave a message at first, but after the fourth attempt, she broke down and left a message with Priss, simply asking her to read the E-mail's or call if she wanted. That made yesterday a living Hell for the former Green Saber, as she still heard nothing from the woman she couldn't get out of her dreams… no matter how much she was beginning to want to. Becoming more frustrated by each passing second, Linna finally hadn't been able to take just waiting in bed anymore. After a few false alarm phone calls and spam E-mail's the desperate woman willed herself out of bed and began pacing around the house like a caged animal. Her Father didn't really know what to think… her Mother surprised but strangely understanding of her mood for some reason. After waking this morning, Linna decided to try and get on with things... the first being to get out of the house she felt trapped in and regain some degree of control back over her life. The plan was working just fine until her Mother had interrupted… _if only I wasn't so tired from just walking outside… I know I can go farther than this… _

"You look anything but right now," Misa countered sternly, that 'Mother Knows Best' look written across her face. She put one hand on Linna's arm to help lift her up. "Let's get you back to the house and see if you opened up your stitches again."

"NO!" Linna stated forcefully, pulling herself upright and stepping away from her Mother. "I said I'm fine! Now I'm going to walk down to the pond and back."

"That's almost a mile one way! You couldn't even make it 50 meters in your condition right now."

"I CAN make it… and stop treating me like a five year old. I don't live here anymore, remember!" Linna turned her back on her Mother and started walking, albeit very gingerly, down the oft-traveled path toward the old pond behind their property.

"What's gotten into you Linna! You don't need to treat me this way just because you haven't heard from your friend yet."

Linna stopped walking at her Mother's comments, turning back to face her for a moment with a death glare in her eye. "Just like always… You can't give me even a little bit of privacy, can you!"

"_Privacy?_ How can you expect to keep your personal matters _private_ when you stalk around the house all night, pouncing on the phone like a lion the second it rings!"

Linna grew defensive at her Mother's attacks. "How do you know I was waiting for a phone call anyway? Maybe I'm just fed up with being back home!" Linna turned back around and started walking again.

"I don't think you're fed up with us already." Misa considered her next tact carefully. "Why don't I come with you… this way you can tell me more about this Priss person we saw at the hospital."

Linna stood frozen to the ground, beginning to guess at how much her Mother might know about what was really going on.

Misa spoke as she closed the distance between the two women. "I don't suppose that's who you were waiting on a phone call from, was it?" She reached Linna's side and looked at her daughter. Her head was bowed, hands by her sides with fists clenched, eyes closed with tears beginning to run down both sides of her face. The sudden extreme response to her question momentarily stunned the older woman. She was making educated guesses at what might be really bothering Linna, but she didn't think it was this serious… until now. "Linna…" She put one hand over Linna's shoulder until she jerked back, throwing Misa's arm off of her.

Linna winced at the jerking motion of her own body, but didn't stop her actions. "Just leave me alone Mom…" she whispered sullenly "… I just need some time to myself right now… away from you and Dad."

The rejection from her daughter struck home very hard on Misa's heart, but she was still very concerned for her daughter's health. "I'm sorry. I understand you need your space, but you can't go all that way by yourself. What if something happens to you. It's not like anyone else travels that path."

"Maybe she would let someone else help then," a familiar masculine voice sounded out behind the two women, causing both to turn around in surprise from the edge of the wooded trail.

"Masaki!" Linna blurted out at the site of the blond haired man, sharply dressed as he had been the previous occasion she had seen him.

"So, what brings you out here?" Misa spoke defensively, not entirely happy about being upstaged in front of her daughter.

"I came by to see if Linna was able to have visitors yet. I heard you were up now, but I didn't think you'd be out walking already based on the poor reports from your father. I'm glad to see they were greatly exaggerated."

Linna felt her heart trying to warm up to the words she was hearing. _I'm not ready for this yet… _Linna wiped away the tears on her face with her empty hand. "Thanks for coming, but I really need to do this on my own," she told him, trying to fight off the conflicting emotions his presence was filling her with.

"I promise not to get in your way… and I won't say a word if you don't want me to," the man said with a confident smile, approaching Linna's side.

"Thanks for the offer… but no thanks." She began walking down the trail once again before her Mother's voice stopped her for a third time.

"Let him go with you Linna. It's either that or I'll follow you anyway… your choice." Misa wasn't real happy with either option, but she wasn't about to let Linna's pride put her health in serious jeopardy.

Linna looked over her shoulder with a scowl. "Fine. But I'm not searching for him if he gets lost."

Masaki didn't take the bait, concentrating instead on trying to resolve some of the tension filling the air. "Then it's settled. Don't worry Mrs. Yamazaki, I'll make sure she comes back in one piece."

_I'll never forgive you if she doesn't _"Be careful Linna. Don't overextend yourself. You'll just make things worse."

"Things can't get any worse Mom," she commented dejectedly as she walked off into the woods.

The blond haired man faced the elder woman with a "What was that about?" look in his eyes.

Misa shook her head. "Just be there for her… she doesn't want me mothering her right now, but she's not ready to be out there by herself."

Masaki nodded in response, turning into the woods to follow a few meters behind the object of his protection.

Misa watched them intently through the trees until they were out of sight. _I hope he knows what he's getting himself into _She knew her daughter wouldn't relent easily to any assistance. Her thoughts turned to Linna's last words, wondering if her health problems were paled in comparison to whatever emotional issues she might have with this woman named _Priss_.

* * *

Priss lumbered into the disaster area she called home, dragging both feet through the door, crashing onto the lone couch on the opposite wall. Pulling a lone disk from her jacket pocket, she examined the labeling for a moment. "_Summer Rifts – Maxon/Priss" _was scribbled in pencil in a haphazard fashion. The guitarist had stuck with her even when the other two members of the band had politely asked for a well deserved rest from their marathon jams sessions the past few days. The musical therapy seemed to be working, despite the unwelcome reminder from Leon of just what she was trying hard to forget. It had been three days since he had mentioned Linna's name. _Just how the hell did he find out about that anyway… it's either Nene's fault… or… maybe he really is stalking me… _Sleep was still eluding her to a great extent, but slowly she felt a certain degree of calm control returning to her fragmented life.

Eyeing the disk between two fingers, she lifted herself heavily from the couch and walked next to the door where her computer was set up on a makeshift table. She mindlessly began to insert the disk into the drive when she realized what was on top of the PC… or more appropriately what wasn't. Where her monitor normally sat was occupied by a couple of empty pizza boxes and some empty sandwich wrappers. Sudden recollection of where her monitor was refreshed itself onto her consciousness… a rage induced toss across the road towards Sylia… exploding into a million pieces short of the target, but still having the desired effect. It's only real crime being the closest thing to the door at the time of her 'disagreement' with the Knight Saber's leader. _Guess I'll have to call Maxon and see if he can print out the sheets then… if I can remember where the phone is ._

Since quitting the Knight Sabers, Priss hadn't had much of a reason to keep her phone with her, and for the past two days hadn't touched it at all. Alternating between the trailer and the studio didn't exactly necessitate having instant communication availability. _Not like some music producer's going to call me anyway… not the way I've sounded lately… _After searching for almost thirty minutes, and nearly giving up the idea for the option of just driving the twenty minutes over to his place, she finally found the device under a pile of dirty laundry in one corner of the trailer. _I really should try and pick up this place sometime _One of the first 'healthy' thoughts she had had in the last few days.

She was about to punch in Maxon's number when she noticed the message indicator flashing on the screen. Priss flipped through the menus, discovering the message was two days old but the number wasn't one she recognized. Curious, she punched in the proper codes to listen to the message. Holding the device to her ear, she only heard the first few words. Nightmarish recognitions drove spasms through her arm letting the phone to fall to the trailer floor, bouncing hard as it landed on the unkempt surface. The singer staggered back a couple of steps into a wall, holding onto a doorframe for support. Priss stared at the evil object, unable to discern if this was really happening or just another trick her mind was playing on her. "_Linna… why?… "_

Mentally reviewing recent events, she was able to focus for just a moment. A flash of panic gripped her chest as Priss realized two things simultaneously… this wasn't a dream… and the phone was probably broken now. "DAMMIT!" She lunged at the ground and reached for the phone. Gently lifting the device to her ear again, her eyes flickered with almost joyous relief when the computerized feminine voice listed her message options once again. _Never thought I'd be so happy to hear that sound… _Fingers nervously twitching, she had to press the proper code in three times to get the message to replay itself.

"Hi Priss. Just calling to see if you had read the E-mails I sent you. Just reply to the messages… or call back if you want to talk. (pause) Bye."

E-mails? Priss' confused face gazed over at the pizza boxes on top of the computer. Damn! The message was short and left a lot to interpretation, which Priss' wrecked emotional state was more that happy to try and fill in the blanks for her. Linna's voice sounded tense, almost nervous. And the pause just added to the growing list of questions in the singer's mind. Why?… Why write me… then call me as well? Motivation was the central question in her mind. The only two that made any sense to Priss were anger and closure. Anger, because of what Priss had done to her… and closure, because Priss had opened the door to let Linna into her former world. Neither path would be pleasant, but both would provide some degree of comfort just from the closure Priss would receive in return.

The singer strode out of the trailer and onto her bike purposely, dark adrenaline beginning to pump into her system at the expectation of Linna's message. It was the easiest form of self-punishment she could employ… simply reading the E-mails would provide the abuse. Then the singer could focus on the meanings, delve into the knowledge that the past was behind her now, and then hopefully move on with life. The engine roared to life as she flew towards the closest place she could think of to help… a public place with free access to computers.

* * *

Misa stared hard into the monitor, trying to will the information from the electrical component. After watching Linna and Masaki leave down the trail, she had retreated to the house and found herself back at the computer in Linna's room, her mind still begging for answers. Just a quick look around the net… she convinced herself, furthermore promising internally not to open Linna's E-mail… some lines she just didn't want to cross with her daughter.

Sitting beside the bed with her back to the door, she searched through the usual sites, looking for the definitive proof her heart demanded. There has to be a trace somewhere, some clue as to what happened… especially if it involved the Knight Sabers However, the usual sites weren't giving her any information. In fact, several were either having server problems or were gone altogether. Misa was beginning to grow suspicious when she heard a huff from behind her. It's been an hour already! Must have lost track of time while I was searching… she thought to herself while noting the clock in the corner of the monitor. She wavered over suspend icon for a second before resigning herself to fate. Misa turned to a glare from Linna, suspicion written over her sweat-covered face.

"I don't suppose you're shopping online for garden supplies…"

Linna had supplied the excuse, but Misa didn't want to bite. She was still too concerned with her daughter's well being to back down at this point. Looking Linna over, she appeared to be in better shape than she figured she would be after the walk. "How was the pond? Do you feel OK now?"

Trying to change the subject… "It was fine. I'm alright now," the younger Yamazaki answered shortly, recalling with a slight blush one slip she had. While climbing up a few rocks, she had lost her balance trying to relieve the strain on her abdomen; she fell backwards… and into Masaki's arms. Linna had looked down at some particularly jagged stones below her head, inwardly sighing at the close call. That was before she realized how the blond man had caught her… or more to the point, just where his hands were resting with both arms wrapped around her sides. He had quickly released Linna once she was upright again, turning his back so she could readjust her sports bra that had nearly been dislodged. Momentary fury and embarrassment were quickly replaced with feelings of gratitude after Masaki had mentioned the fact that no one, especially her mother, needed to know about the slip as long as she wasn't hurt.

Linna's thoughts quickly returned to the present as she remembered her anger at finding her mother snooping on her computer, or at least that's what she suspected knowing her mother. "So just what are you doing on my computer?"

Misa briefly considered arguing about ownership of the lone computer in the house, before deciding to stop playing games. She's not going to give this up… well, no time like the present… "I was just looking for information on the Knight Sabers. You wouldn't happen to have learned anything about them while you were in Tokyo, would you?" She saw the fear in Linna's eyes and gave a 'knowing' look in return.

Linna took a step back, staring at her mother's sly smile; coming to the realization that she wasn't hiding as much as she thought she was. "Wh… Why would you ask that?"

Misa sighed as she glanced down into the computer screen. She closed the running programs so that only the background image was displayed on the monitor. She turned the thin projection device around to face Linna, pointing with one finger at the Green Saber. "This Saber showed up a week after you got into Tokyo, according to a few of the websites you had book marked. The few rumors that circulated right away all pointed to a new member joining the team." Misa looked into Linna's eyes and found her lost in the image being shown to her.

"I know you didn't just go to Tokyo to work for Hugh Geit… not that you always talked about the Knight Sabers here but I still noticed when you did. When you left, I noticed just how many websites you had visited trying to get information on them. I wondered if they really existed… until I started reading about the Green Saber's appearance. When you would call, I could tell you were trying to hide something."

"So why not just ask me?"

"I don't know… I guess I though it would have made me sound paranoid since I really didn't know… at least until last week. When you came back this past weekend, I wanted to ask you about it, but it just didn't feel like the right time. I was just happy to see you again; happy to have you back at home for a couple of days. Plus, with your father still trying to arrange a suitor for you, I didn't want to do anything else that might push you away permanently. When we talked that first evening back, you mentioned commitments… and that's when I knew…" She noticed Linna's gaze break away from the computer screen and into her own eyes, her lips forming a short smile that gave a resigned acknowledgment of her suspicions. "… I knew that you had joined the Knight Sabers… and that was the one thing you had been searching for in life. I was just happy that you had found it."

"At least I thought I had found it…" Linna whispered quietly to herself, not realizing she had spoken out loud until her mother answered.

"What really happened with the boomer incident? I didn't believe the story the police told us, but I couldn't tell your father that."

"Why? You never told Dad what you found out about me?"

"Well, I wasn't completely sure… at least until now anyway. Plus, you know him… he'd never understand something like this. He'd just use it as another reason why you shouldn't have been allowed to leave home without being married first."

Linna smiled at the truth of her mother's remarks. "So what do you really think of my hobby?"

"It scared me to death… especially after seeing some of the pictures on the Internet of what you were fighting against. If I had known earlier what you were doing, I might have come to Tokyo to talk you out of it. It seems overly dangerous… reckless… that's not what I expected you to want to do. I had nightmares of you getting hurt… only to have them come to life when we got that call from Tokyo." She gave Linna an expectant look, asking for the real explanation with her eyes.

Linna's emotions filled with lingering frustration, her own unanswered questions dancing around her mind. "I… I still don't really know. I just remember putting on the hardsuit… and then…" she paused as Priss' calming voice played itself in her mind. She listened to the voice as she slowly regressed into a shallow state of depression, losing track of the ongoing conversation with her mother.

"Then what?" Misa asked, concern wrapped in her voice at the recollection of finding her daughter in the hospital and then the succession of nightmares she had endured afterwards.

"All I can remember is… the other's voices… trying to help me." Linna stopped short of mentioning names, uncertain if she should divulge any more about the Sabers than her mother already knew.

"Priss was one of them, wasn't she?" the question more of a statement of fact from the elder Yamazaki. "That was why she was in the hospital room when we arrived… and why you were calling out for her when you woke up from some of your nightmares."

Linna didn't know how to answer her mother. Nothing she says will surprise me anymore She stared down at the Blue Saber in the computer screen, remembering Priss' face in the hospital room… and her confession. "She is… was the blue one. I remembered her voice… she was trying to comfort me at the time, although I didn't know why she was acting that way until later." Linna paused at what she was about to say next, trying to guess at her mother's response. "Just before you came into the room, Priss told me that it wasn't the boomer that had caused my injuries."

"If it wasn't the boomer…"

"Priss said she had done it… that it was her fault. I don't blame her though. I know in my heart it must have been an accident."

"You two didn't look like you were disagreeing about it when we came in the room."

Linna blushed furiously at the implied meanings of the words from her mother. "No. I think we were past that point, although it was a painful one to get that far…" She placed a hand over her still stitched up midsection at the recollection of just what had happened in the room. "… Priss was about to walk out when I tried to get up and stop her. I would have fallen onto the floor if she hadn't caught me, but I think that's when the stitches pulled out."

"You didn't feel them pop or anything?"

"Yeah, but I must have forgotten… I had something else on my mind at the time."

That statement brought even more questions to Misa's mind, especially considering recent events just behind their home. "Why were you expecting Priss to call you now?"

The change in questioning threw Linna for a loop. "I… I sent her some E-mails. When she didn't write back, I tried calling her. I left a message for her two days ago…"

"Well that explains a lot." Silence fell over the bedroom as the two women considered the revelations of the past few minutes. Misa was first to break the ice. "You two were good friends I take it then. Would you mind telling me more about her?"

"No… No, of course not." Linna looked up at the ceiling and placed a hand on her chin. "Where to start…"

"Why don't you come sit down first…" Misa suggested, patting a section of the bed right next to where she was sitting. "… then you can start from the beginning. How did you first meet her?"

Linna let out a giggle as she gingerly sat down onto the bed, cautious of her sore abdomen. "Well, it all started the first day in Tokyo actually. Misae took me out to grab some food and…" As Linna talked, it felt as if the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders. The fact of being able to talk openly about all the things that had happened to her acting as a supreme elixir for her emotionally distraught state… almost a hundred times better than the walk to the pond.

Misa listened to her daughter for the next hour talk about Priss, the Knight Sabers, and Tokyo. The more she heard Linna talk of the Blue Saber, the more she realized just how attached she was to this woman. She didn't say exactly what her feelings for Priss were, but she could tell based on the way she talked about her just how she felt. Furthermore, it explained a bit more to Misa about perhaps just why Linna had found it so difficult to find someone she was willing to settle down with. Apparently we've narrowed the choices a little too far for her… Misa wasn't upset or disturbed about this fact, only surprised she hadn't thought about it sooner… although she wondered how her father might react to this news.

Afterwards they continued to talk for the rest of the afternoon... until Linna's father arrived home from the fishing trip, dinner in hand.

* * *

The leather-clad woman appeared lost to the librarian. Standing in the lobby with a confused frown on her face, the librarian absently wondered if she had ever read a book in her life. "Can I help you Miss?"

The old woman speaking to her from behind the counter startled Priss. "Um… Yeah. Where are your computers?"

"Just down that hallway and turn left at the end. Keep going until you see an open room to your right. The signup list should be on the table just as you walk in."

"The signup list?"

"Yes. The computers get a lot of use, so we have signup periods where different people can get a chance to use them."

"Oh," Priss breathed out as she added a depressed sigh.

"Don't worry. It's dinnertime and there are usually one or two slower machines available now. By the way, we close in an hour."

Priss' mood brightened some at the encouraging words. "OK. Thanks," she threw over her shoulder as she walked towards the hallway pointed out to her earlier. She found the computer room easy enough and, just as the librarian had commented, she found one available. As she sat down, Priss noted the thumping from her chest. She stared at the computer for a second before realizing her critical error… Just how do I read my E-mail on this damn thing? A voice behind her startled Priss.

"I'm sorry, but are you having some problems? Maybe I could help?"

Priss turned to see a short older man looking over her shoulder at the screen. He wore a similar badge to the librarian she had met in the lobby. Can these people read minds or something? Priss scowled at the forward request. Her heart wasn't having any of it however. It thumped louder at the expectation of reading the messages after some assistance, regardless of how little the reclusive singer wanted any. "Well, I'm trying to read my mail…"

Priss explained the problems and with a couple of swift keystrokes, the familiar login screen to her E-mail account was opened in front of her. "Do you know your password?"

"Of course." How could I forget…

"Good. Just let me know if I can be of any more assistance then." With that, the helpful man left Priss to her E-mail.

She raised her hands to the keyboard, fingers twitching from racked nerves. Closing her eyes to still the fear, she relaxed enough to type in the password, k-a-t-s-u-r-o, and open her inbox. Priss found several messages… mostly spam… awaiting her. She quickly scanned through the list of mails before three distinct messages caught her attention. The first had a simple "Hi There!" typed in the subject line, the other two titled "re: Hi There!", all sent out the same day, actually all within an hour of each other from the time stamp. Strange, I wonder why she did that?

Priss opened the first one and read quickly. It was fairly calm and vanilla in texture, not what she expected at all… especially considering the way she signed the E-mail… "Miss you,". What the Hell? Those two words set off all kinds of alarms in Priss' head. Her heart began to pound furiously in her chest as she closed the first E-mail and opened the second, absently wondering again just why she would write again that quickly.

If anyone had watching Priss' cubicle while she was reading the second message, they would have sworn someone had turned on a red light signal in the booth from the color her face turned. She couldn't believe the words in front of her. "I dream about you sometimes" Oh my God… Linna's got a crush on me! This wasn't the first time the singer had found someone with a crush on her, but the first time it was another woman, and someone who knew her other hobbies as well. Priss flew back through her memories, for the clues that might shed some light on just why Linna would feel that way. The one image that struck home was of the kiss on the cheek Linna had given her in the hospital. It seemed so innocent at the time. Priss really didn't think too much of it since she was more worried about Linna's health after catching her. She had assumed it was more of a thank you for saving her than an expression of deeper emotions.

After staring at the letters on the screen for a few minutes, she remembered the third E-mail. After writing this, what else could she say? Priss' blood raced in her body as she opened the third E-mail. From the time it took to open, Priss knew it had to be a long one. As she began to read she lost herself in the message… and found herself drawn directly into Linna's soul. Time ceased to exist for Priss. The shell she so meticulously carved out and lived inside of cracked under the weight of the words she read. No one, not even Katsuro, had ever bared themselves before her so.

After finishing the E-mail, and reading the last line… "I still want to be part of your life, even without the Knight Sabers" the remnants of her shell shattered, leaving the woman naked to her own emotions. The messages were anything but what she expected. Linna didn't blame Priss for her injuries… she wasn't even that upset about it really. That part surprised her more than anything did… the fact that she felt almost relieved at the removal of family responsibility. The complex entanglement of motivations that drove Linna Yamazaki to Tokyo… to search out the Knight Sabers and to join with them… only to find herself drawn towards one of the group were spread out before Priss like a music sheet. She could see all the words at face value, and yet when coupled with the wrought out emotions of Linna's heart, they became so much more to Priss.

She understood more about Linna now than anyone else she had ever known… and yet her own heart still yearned for more. That realization sent shockwaves through Priss' mind as she came to grips with the fact she felt like writing Linna back, or perhaps calling her, or even… That's crazy… even if I knew where she lived I'd still have to deal with the rest of her family . With that denial aside, she opened up a reply E-mail and was about to start typing when the man who had assisted her earlier spoke up over the quiet room.

"It's time to close up shop now. Thanks for coming and we'll open at 10 in the morning."

"Damn," she muttered under her breath. Priss closed the programs and logged off the computer with a huff, adrenaline still flowing strong through her system from the E-mails she had just read.

When she arrived back at her trailer, Priss collapsed onto her bed, thoughts continuing to swirl around the country girl she had let into her private life… and now that had grabbed hold on part of her heart. Sleep found her exhausted body a short time later, dreams filled with images of a life with someone who she knew cared about her like only one other person had before.

* * *

Linna was lying in her bed when the phone rang, stirring her from the semi-sleep state she was in. She let it ring twice before picking it up, mentally preparing herself in case the person on the other end was who she hoped it would be. "Hello," she answered simply.

"Hello, is this Linna?"

The tired woman's heart sank a little before settling out at the not completely unwelcome sound of the man's voice. "Yes. Hi Masaki."

"Sorry if I'm calling late but I wanted to ask you something before I lose the nerve."

"Um… Ok, what did you want to ask?"

"Well, since I didn't get much of a chance to talk to you today, I wanted to ask if I could take you out to lunch tomorrow… down at the village square… your choice of restaurants."

Linna paused for a second, thoughts of Priss flashing in her head. She's not going to call me anyway her depressed heart convinced her, pushed along somewhat by the relief of being able to talk about her and the Knight Sabers with her mom earlier in the day… a small sense of closure coming with the open discussion. The beginnings of closure helped to make up her mind. "I'd like that. Sure. What time?"

"How about I pick you up at 11:30?"

"I'll see you then. Goodnight Masaki."

"Goodnight Linna. See you in the morning."

She hung up the phone next to her bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment before a knock on the door called her attention elsewhere. "Yes mother?" she answered knowingly.

"Mind if I come in?"

"No."

Misa walked in, face full of questions. "So, was that…" pausing at the unfinished thought.

"No," she answered, knowing full well what her mother was getting at. She almost wished now she hadn't found out about Priss… almost. "It was Masaki."

"What did he want?"

"He asked me out on a lunch date tomorrow."

"Really. And?"

Linna was a bit confused by the questioning tone of her mother's voice. "I told him yes."

"Is that really what you want?"

Now Linna was really confused. _I never told her how I felt about Priss…_ "Why wouldn't it be?"

"From our talk this afternoon, I just thought you had someone else on your mind, that's all."

_Was it that obvious…_ "You're talking about Priss, aren't you?" Her mother continued to look knowingly at her in silence. "Mom! She's a woman, why would you…"

"Because I think you're in love with her," Misa cut her off quickly, not wanting to draw out the discussion longer than it needed to be.

Linna stared at her, unable to speak. In the E-mails she had admitting thinking of Priss often, wishing to spend time with her, getting to know her better. Love was a word she didn't dare admit to herself applied in this case. She had never truly been in love before, and the thought of falling in love with another woman chilled her to the bone. "Why would you say that?"

Misa wasn't sure if she had gone too far in her assessment of the situation, especially after barely seeing Priss in person for all of five minutes before and then only hearing about her from her daughter. "I could tell by the way you talked about her. Your feelings for Priss run very deep." _Although I wonder if you even realize how deep they are_

Linna searched her heart and found no recourse to deny her mother except one… "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to hear from her again anyway."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Between the E-mails and phone messages, yes I am now," Linna added unable to hide the pain in her soul.

"Well, I hope things work out for you however you want them too. If you ever want to talk…"

"Thanks mom."

Misa closed the door and left Linna to her thoughts. I just hope you're not giving up on something your heart will never forgive you for…

* * *

_It's almost time… time to play now…_ The young conscience reached out, searching for the humans around. After a short time, they appeared to her again… darting about… getting oh so close… then moving away again. _Come and play… it's almost time… I'm ready to play now…_

The being, watching through many different eyes, had seen the faces of the ones now searching for her. She knew they would find her soon… and she would be ready. A bright light illuminated her resting spot as surges of energy fed through the place she called home. She absorbed the dose of electrons, feeling the power surge through her body in response to the negative powers she called on. Feeling outward, farther than before, she called out to her brethren.

_It's almost time… time to be free… free to play… play with Sylia… Sylia… Sylia…_

* * *

From the underground tunnels that Sylia was searching through, she thought she heard a voice calling her. She whirled around, blade drawn… "Who is it! Who's there!"

"Sylia, what's wrong?" Nene asked through the communication circuit.

"Someone…" Sylia looked around but saw nothing but ruins and debris. "… nothing… nothing's wrong Nene. Keep searching." But something still bothered Sylia. She knew she heard something, but what? A dull ache grew in the back of her head as Sylia moved about, trying to find a path to the next target. With every step the ache grew until her head was throbbing. She still fought through the pain though. She finished checking the target, negative again, and then dragged herself back to the pit just before her battery ran out.

Ripping her helmet off, she held her head in her hands for several minutes until she heard Nene fly in to switch out her own battery.

"Sylia, are you OK?"

She pulled her head up, shaking out the aftereffects of the near migraine. "Yes Nene. Now hurry up and change that battery. We've still got eighty points to check."

"Ok, if you're sure you're alright then," Nene said unsure of whether she believed Sylia or not.

"Of course I'm sure. Time is wasting, so go!"

Nene turned towards the spare battery rack and quickly changed out her pack. After Mackey had launched her back out again, she wondered how much longer she and Sylia could keep up this pace. This considering she had done nothing but work for the ADP, Knight Sabers, and sleep for the past four days nonstop… especially if Sylia had any more episodes like the one she was currently denying.

_To be continued…_


	15. Ch 15: Grace to Grace

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 15 – Grace to Grace

* * *

The red bike roared through the sunrise, heading out of the city and towards the unknown. _I can't believe I'm doing this… _Priss thought to herself. She recalled the confused state she had awoken to earlier in the morning… _much_ earlier in the morning actually. 

The clock read out 2:42 a.m. when Priss had been roused by some rather intense dreams… or at least that's what she decided since she couldn't remember everything that they involved… except that Linna was a part of it. She had stared out into the dark wall off the side of the bed as she tried to remember for a few minutes. Unsuccessful at retrieving those memories, she settled on ones she would never forget. Her restless mind had reread the words again and again from the pictures in her head… mental images of the computer screen from the library. _Why Linna? Why did you write those words… you can't really feel that way… not after all I've done to you…_ Residual doubts growing from her extended depression threatened to derail the message that had been so clear to her when Priss had first read the words. The tide of emotions had swirled high and low through her head, the lows of guilt, regret, failure, loss… contrasted with the highs of friendship, hope, dreams, and forgiveness. Her mood had shifted almost predictably like night and day alternating from those highs to the lows and back again… arguing with herself over her possible courses of action.

_Should I answer her?… Does she love me?… Should I call her?…_

_Haven't I hurt her enough…_

Finally deciding for a change of scenery to help escape her conflicting thoughts, Priss had taken off on her bike and into the false-lit streets of MegaTokyo. However, she quickly discovered the conflict followed her there as well. Every twist and turn of the road led to a shift in her emotions. As recourse, Priss tried to form the words in her head to respond to Linna's soul-bearing letter to her. As before when she tried to plan out how to first tell Linna in the hospital just how she felt then, she couldn't find the right words now to express just how her heart felt either. Frustrating wouldn't begin to describe the sensation eating away inside of the normally expressive singer. Not that she would verbalize the ideas that materialized in her head, but she could almost always write them down on a notebook or music sheet, letters flowing straight from her heart to the pencil in her hand. With that realization, an avenue opened up before her… and a song began to mold itself from long dormant parts of her soul. However, she knew when she finished the song that there would only be one way to convey it… not via letter… not via phone… but only one way…

… and Priss found herself back on the highway again, back in the present, headed off to see Linna in person. Not that she knew exactly where she was going. She had gotten some directions with a little help from one of Jaid's hacker friends using Linna's E-mail address. She figured Nene could have done a better job, but asking the current Knight Saber for any assistance was simply not an option. I'd give up singing and riding my bike before I'd ask either her or Sylia for help she had reasoned bitterly at the time… and she wasn't about to quit either any time soon.

So the street machine roared into the countryside, leather-clad rider beginning to look more out of place by the kilometer. Her speed wasn't the usual breakneck pace she used to clear her head… rather she was almost buying time as she put the pieces of the song together, carefully changing and rearranging sections on the blank paper in her mind. She knew that she was working on the easy part though. Once finished, she would have to decide how to deliver the message. Improvisation wasn't her strong suit on stage, but she was betting she could make it work in this case… as long as Linna was willing to listen to her…

* * *

Masaki walked with the young woman's arm tucked in under his own. They headed down a quiet sidewalk away from the simple food court and towards the quaint center of the village. He was a bit surprised that she was as forward with contact this time as reluctant as she had been to even speak to him the day before during their walk to the pond. He recalled all of her strange behavior in the week he had known her and tried to put the pieces of the puzzle that was Linna Yamazaki together. After a short time, he realized he didn't have all the pieces to work with yet. They still hadn't spoken much, Linna still lost in thought most of the time from what he could tell. In addition, he still wasn't sure how to broach some of the more sensitive topics himself, namely her recent medical problems. With no clear starting point, he decided to start off small. "So, did you have a favorite Chinese restaurant in Tokyo?" he asked referring to her choice of lunch just an hour prior. 

"No. Actually I never ate any Chinese while I was there," Linna said as she discovered the truth herself.

"Really? Why Chinese now?"

"I guess… I was just looking for a change of pace from my Tokyo lifestyle." _In a lot of different ways…_ she realized as she tugged a bit on Masaki's arm to draw him closer.

"I see," he said, noting the extra meaning from the increased pressure on his limb. "You seemed pretty determined to go back to Tokyo. Do you mind if I asked what happened to you when you went back?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it," Linna lowly responded, head bowing apologetically.  
_I know it had something to do with a boomer attack… it must have really shaken her up…_ "I can understand if it still hurts to think about it."

"Actually I just wanted to stop dwelling on the past and start looking towards the future," she announced, perking her head up and gazing up into his blue eyes. She saw the same compassion and understanding in them now as when she had asked for the money for the ticket back to Tokyo just a week ago.

"Isn't it hard to look at the future now… at least since it's been so radically changed for you?" he asked, seizing the opening he had been searching for.

"Actually it's much easier since I know how you feel about it."

"Wha… What do you mean?" Masaki responded, thrown off balance by the statement.

"I was awake when you first stopped by earlier this week. I heard what you said when my mother told you about the extent of my injuries. You really meant what you said, didn't you?"

_More than I can even tell you now…_ "Of course. I just didn't think you heard that, or that your mother would have told you."

"I never told her I was awake, or that I heard you, and she never discussed it with me. Just remember the walls in my house are fairly thin…" Linna said with a sly grin across her face.

"I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm over."

The couple found themselves at the center of the small village, a familiar sparkling fountain in the middle surrounded by several empty benches facing towards it.

"Care to sit and talk for a while?" Masaki asked, nodding in the direction of the centerpiece.

Linna answered with a smile. "I'd love to."

The two locals crossed the surrounding roadway and sat down on a bench, losing themselves in conversation about whatever the future might hold for both of them… separate or otherwise...

* * *

The Red Saber stretched out on the reclining chair, face down, wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around her body. The towel only covered to just above her thighs… but that was the idea. _Better access to those problem areas… _Nene thought to herself. The door slid open to allow Mackey to enter the room. He approached the blond girl from the side, noting that her head was turned towards the opposite wall. 

"Better hurry up before I fall asleep," the exhausted teenager announced from the folded down chair.

"Don't you have to be at work in an hour?" Mackey replied sarcastically.

"Exactly! Times wasting. Get to work slave!" she joked in return.

"Yes my mistress… as you command," he added, keeping in tune with the running gag. With a towel hung over one shoulder, Mackey uncapped the bottle of lotion and squirted some of the silky fluid onto his open palm. With gentle, learning hands he began to apply the lotion to Nene's right thigh, carefully working out the persistent knots that had been troubling her for the last few days.

"Mmm… feels good…" she whispered dreamily to his vastly improving touch. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's been taking lessons…_

_I wonder if she can tell I've been researching this lately…_ Mackey thought to himself, focusing squarely on the task at hand… innocent mind not considering any other pursuits. "I hope Sylia's feeling better now. She wouldn't let me help her when she got back this time."

"Dunno… she's been acting kind of strange the past couple of days. And those headaches…"

"I know. I just wish she would talk to me about it," he said with a hint of frustration pushing out of his voice. " I think Nigel knows something, but he's not talking either."

The topic reminded Nene of another concern she had. "I'm worried that if something happens to Sylia while we're underground, I won't have enough battery power left to go help her out."

"Nigel and I have been talking about your battery problem. I think we've come up with a solution, but Nigel wants to talk to Sylia about it before we proceed."

"Probably doesn't want to get on her bad side."

"Would you?"

"No way. I've seen what that's like…" the young girl recalled some not so pleasant memories.

* * *

The growing dull ache in Linna's abdomen began talking to her. She looked at her watch, confirming that her medication should be wearing off now. Add to that the fact that she was growing very tired from being out nearly all day, and the still recovering woman knew her time was up. "I'm sorry, but if you don't mind too much I need to be getting back home now. I didn't exactly plan on being out this long so I didn't bring any medicine with me," she added with a slight giggle. 

"That's OK. I hope I haven't caused you any undo pain."

"No! No, not at all. I've really enjoyed this today." _God did I ever need something like this now!_

Masaki smiled in return. "I'm glad you did. There is one other thing I wanted to tell you though if you wouldn't mind waiting for just another minute or two."

Linna rubbed the bandage through her shirt as she answered, gauging how long she could wait. "No, I wouldn't mind. What is it?"

The blond haired man looked at the ground, contemplating exactly how to phrase what he wanted to convey. "I just wanted to tell you how glad I am that you came back, albeit not under the best of circumstances."

Linna smiled in return, blushing slightly at the personal turn the conversation was taking.

Masaki continued to look away, still thumbing through his jumbled thoughts. "Actually, when you left, I considered buying a ticket and following you to Tokyo."

Linna's smile turned cross as confusion replaced the happier thoughts of a moment ago. "Why on Earth would you do that? I thought you came back from Tokyo just so you could work for your father."

"Yes, I did. But I saw something in you last week… something very special." Masaki looked up into Linna's eyes, now open wide with surprise, to speak directly into her. "I didn't want to just let you go and give up on what I saw there. It took a lot of courage to do what you did… leaving home… heading out on your own… even asking for money for a ticket so you could attend to things you considered important."

Linna's face turned beet red as Masaki's words bore into her like a drill, piercing her heart and driving home the message of just how much he thought of her.

"I admired you for everything I saw then and even some things that I remembered from your past."

"M… My past?"

"You were a very popular track star here for a couple of years… you were hard not to notice back then."

"Well, not that many people noticed," she recalled some particularly unpleasant moments during school.

"But _I_ did. And that just helped to solidify my beliefs about you when I met you in person."

Linna didn't know how to answer him any more. The shift in conversation was one she hadn't expected… and she wasn't quite ready to deal with everything at the moment. "I… I'm surprised you didn't mention this before," she finally stammered out with a stress filled laugh.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't think of the right way to say it before, and I'm not sure if I did right now either. But I do care about you deeply," he said placing one arm around Linna's shoulders and pulling her close, gazing directly into her eyes.

"Masaki…" Linna whispered out, becoming slightly unnerved by his encroaching proximity.

The man could see the hints of fear in her eyes, and backed away a couple of inches in response. "I'm sorry. I've just been thinking the past few days that all this is happening for a reason, that's all."

"What reason?" Linna asked, although she thought she already knew what he was going to say.

"Maybe… Maybe we were meant to come together like this. My meeting you before… remembering you from the past… helping you leave only to have you come back a couple of days later… you overhearing my conversation with your mother… helping you on the walk to the pond… and now…" As Masaki worked through the logic of his thoughts, he subconsciously edged closer to Linna, moment by moment.

Linna wasn't expecting such an involved answer to her question. However surprised, she was still drawn in to every syllable he spoke, allowing herself to be pulled into him as he showered those golden words onto her soul. The truth of the words and his calm demeanor disarmed any lingering doubts she had about agreeing to the date… and about the unasked advances he now approached with. She tilted her head, closed her eyes, lips parting slightly in reflexive anticipation of contact. When it came, she was instantly reminded of a single sensation… from a recent, vivid dream she had. The dream didn't involve Masaki though… it was of someone else.

Linna's thoughts turned briefly to that person even as the kiss lingered, his hand reaching behind to gently caress her neck. His touch reminded Linna of how she remembered another touch… in the hospital. An image of that person tried to project itself onto her mind, but she blocked off the attempt. Just the past trying to hold me back… she convinced herself as she continued to return the kiss. The hissing sound of the nearby fountain coupled with the increased beating of her heart formed a duet of harmony… a harmony that placed her under a dreamlike trance. That trance finally blocked out the disrupting images vainly trying to project themselves from deep within her torn soul.

Another sound drew out of the background… faint recognition disturbing the harmony, enough to break the trance… but not quite enough to cause her to pull out of the lingering kiss just yet. As the sound increased in intensity to match the level of the rushing water nearby, another image superimposed itself in Linna's fragmented mind… an image of a certain red bike, with a certain brown haired woman sitting atop it. The picture was a frame from her memory… from one of the first times she had seen the woman… one she could never forget. The starkness of that picture caused her to open her eyes… only to blink twice to make sure she had really opened them.

Linna's whole body snapped rigid from the sight in front of her, instantly breaking the kiss. She didn't hear the rushing fountain anymore, nor could she hear Masaki's panicked questions. Her beating heart was silent, stopped by the visions her eyes were transmitting. The only sound she heard was of the machine now parked just a few meters away… and even that fell silent as the rider turned off the ignition. As the leather-clad person removed the red helmet revealing her face, ice-cold daggers penetrated every square-inch of her body sending shivers of agony throughout Linna's stone-frozen soul.

The only word she could speak was one Masaki barely recognized.

_"Priss?"_

Any hope of forgiveness was destroyed the instant Linna saw into her eyes… the same eyes that had spoken so much to her since they had first met. Anger, compassion, intensity… all emotions the two windows into the singer's soul had shown her. This time however the two spheres reflected a different message… not one Linna had seen before… the twin mirrors merged that message into one single devastating word… one the former track star knew she could never run fast enough to escape from…

_Betrayal

* * *

_

Priss was certain she was getting close. If the small map displayed on her HUD didn't show it, her pounding heart definitely was giving it away. Somehow it knew… knew she was almost to Linna's home. The biker compared the map with the alien scenery around her and tried to make sense of it. Up ahead she could see the beginnings of a village appearing from the wilderness currently around her. _Look's like I'll have to go right through the middle to get to Linna's house she noted idly._

As Priss entered the quaint village, she gazed appreciatively at the serene surroundings. _Nice, quiet place…_ She briefly entertained a passing thought about what it might be like to live in such a place… before realizing what one of her shows would look like to the locals. _They'd run me out of town and throw some silly cleansing ritual in for good measure I bet she joked to herself. _Up ahead she could make out a beautiful fountain, spraying crystal clean water high into the clear blue sky. She wondered why Linna hadn't mentioned it in her E-mails as she slowed the bike down while approaching the circling road around the centerpiece. Priss caught a faint glimpse of a few couples sitting on benches around the fountain. One couple in particular seemed very close, as they drew her attention away from the road for just an instant… an instant that changed everything.

Her hand recognized the problem before she did, idling the bike reflexively at what her eyes saw in the intimate pair. The brown hair… the very familiar brown hair intermixed with the blond hair of her partner… Priss circled behind the bench to see into the face of the person who she didn't want to believe was sitting there.

_No… No, it can't be…_

Coasting around the other side of the bench, she pulled the bike into a parking space facing the woman that Priss didn't want to recognize.

_She can't be here… not like this…_

Priss watched in detached fascination laced with dread as the two lovers continued their embrace… until one of them noticed her presence. The agonizingly familiar eyes of Linna Yamazaki shot wide-open, her partially hidden red face full of a single expression… _Discovery._

Priss' heart shattered in that moment, millions of fragments splintering into nothingness. In it's place, the hardened shell that the reclusive singer had so carefully molded and shaped wrapped around her like a second skin, trying to shield Priss from the cold truth sitting on the bench in front of her. The biker pulled her helmet off, still fighting to regain control over her emotions as she did. Priss looked down into her helmet, the dirt smeared into the top of the red dome only adding to her own worn and weathered reflection. _What the Hell was I thinking coming out here anyway? I should know better by now!_ the jaded soul chided the other woman visible in the helmet. After a moment of struggle, she hammered the steel cold calm through her whole body, managing to hide the bitterness from eyes looking back at her from the red object in her hands. Priss lifted her eyes back into Linna's with that same cold calmness.

Linna recognized the transformation in the other woman and knew she was in serious trouble. Her mind tried unsuccessfully to formulate any kind of response. The only suggestion it offered was to try and bury herself into the ground on the spot. If she really believed she could have obliged, Linna would have started digging with her bare hands… anything to avoid the piercing glare ripping her apart internally.

Priss saw the fear and smiled internally. _Message received then._ She started the engine and lifted the helmet back over her head only to put it back down at the call of her name.

"Priss! Wait!" Linna yelled out after her, jumping off the bench and past her blond haired companion. However, the combined effects of the medication wearing off and the adrenaline rushing through her body dealt a dual hammer blow to her midsection. She was able to take all of two steps before almost collapsing over in a heap, holding her aggravated injury with both arms and groaning in physical and emotional agony. That didn't stop her though. Linna still managed to hobble over to stand behind Priss' bike before she could leave. "Please… we need to talk," she begged through the pain.

Priss turned her head around to stare at the casually dressed woman now blocking her path. Her eyes bored a hole through Linna's impeding body. "I think your actions have said enough, don't you?" she spoke with just a hint of dark sarcasm to her voice, barely able to hide the greater part of the pain below the surface of her words.

Linna still noticed. "Priss… I… Why didn't you call me or E-mail me back?" she threw out bitterly, trying in vain explain the unexplainable.

"Sorry. I didn't realize you were so pressed for time," Priss responded with a icy glance over in Masaki's direction.

Linna knew she was running out of options. Without thinking, she reached out to touch Priss' left arm… a critical mistake on her part. "Priss… please… I'm sor…"

"No, I don't think you are… so don't even try and say it," the singer threw back at her as she jerked away from the touch. Priss could tell that her words visibly shook the other woman, still holding her abdomen with one arm. Priss began to doubt the truth of her own words but didn't relent, instead concentrating on the darkness protectively covering her broken soul.

"Why… why did you come here?" Linna choked out, desperately trying to hold on to the person slipping away from her.

The first notes of the song that Priss had so meticulously crafted in her mind began to play for a second.  
_NO!_  
She shattered them with a mammoth effort and hid the broken pieces within the shell. "Just wanted to go for a little country drive," she lied instead.

Linna saw the conflict within Priss' eyes even as she struggled to hide it. Instinctively, she reached out to try and help out that part of Priss that she saw. She gently laid a hand on Priss' shoulder as she spoke through watering eyes. "That's not like you. Look, I meant everything I said in those E-mails… I just… I didn't know what to think… I didn't know why you left the hospital… and then… you never e-mailed me back…"

"So you jumped at the first person you met back here? Is that all it takes with you Linna?"

"No! Priss… It's not like…"

Priss' fury grew with every word Linna spoke. _Lies! all lies!_ With a blur, she shifted her body sideways and reached back with her left hand to grab the front of Linna's shirt, pulling the other woman off her feet and embedding her stomach in the back of her bike.

Linna nearly screamed at the pain of having her midsection impaled on the hard metal tail section of the machine.

Masaki rose off the bench to protest before an icy stare from the woman atop the bike stopped him dead in his tracks. Something about that stare caused him to fear for his own life more than the woman she had a hold of.

Priss glared back into Linna's agonized face. A dual sense of shock quickly washed through Priss' body. It wasn't intentional, but Priss didn't exactly feel guilty at the effects. On one hand, the lingering effects of the damage she herself had caused still haunted the remains of her heart… on the other, the anguish written across the casually dressed woman's face brought a twisted sense of pleasure to Priss' darkened soul.

"ppprisss… pleassse… your… hhh..hurting me…" Linna squeaked out as Priss continued to pull on her shirt unmercifully.

"Not as Goddamn much as you hurt me just now!" she growled back.

The prone woman strung across the bike shut her eyes tight to block out the truth gripping her.

Priss relaxed her hold but didn't release the shirt as she worked through her jumbled thoughts running rampant through her mind. "I don't open up easily… but I thought I could trust you… trust your words… those Goddamn words you wrote me," she added as the darker part of her soul stoked the coals of bitterness burning brightly in her eyes. "You said you were looking for something… someone you could believe in… you said that you thought I was that person. You made me believe you wanted to be with me… that you'd do anything to come back to Tokyo… to see me again. I thought back to when I first met you… the determination in your eyes… it made me believe what you said. I wanted to believe you could forgive me for what I had done… that you really needed to be with me…"

Linna tried to interject. "Bu… But I do…"

"Like Hell you do!" the leather-clad woman roared out, throwing Linna by her shirt to the hard asphalt beside the bike, partially tearing the thin fabric in the process.

Even after she landed hard on her side, scraping one bare knee not covered by the tan shorts she wore, Linna still wouldn't quit. She picked herself up off the pavement and limped back towards Priss. "I do need you Priss…"

Priss stared hard into Linna as she stopped her with words. "You still don't get it, do you? I don't trust you anymore Linna… I can't trust you. Just like Sylia… You're just trying to use me… using me so you can find an excuse to leave this place."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it though? Look at yourself…. you BELONG here Linna… not in Tokyo…" The dark part of her soul did something next Priss never thought she would do. The virtual knife plunged deep into Linna's heart stood out like a beacon, calling to Priss. With one verbal spar, she twisted that knife in a way she knew would tear that heart out of the woman standing before her. "…besides, you never did quite fit in with us anyway, country girl."

"You… you don't mean that!"

"Are you sure about that?" Priss remarked with an unreadable smirk, throwing Linna's mind into fits of doubt.

"I… I know you don't feel that way," she tried to convince herself.

"You don't know that for sure though, do you? Really, you don't know me at all."

"But I want to…"

"Just Shut Up already! Linna, you don't know what the hell you want. Until you figure it out, just leave me alone. In fact, just leave me alone… period! Don't try and call me, e-mail me, or see me again… Ever!"

Those words finally did something that no physical blow could have… they brought Linna Yamazaki to her knees… literally, wobbly legs failed her causing her to fall to the ground in a heap. _no… she doesn't… not… ever…_ The weight of those words crushed the life from her body, leaving her unable to respond to the woman perched atop the bike.

Priss looked down onto the slumped over form on the ground, a hint of regret flashing through her thoughts for a second. An urge to jump off the bike and gather up the woman rose from deep within Priss' broken heart… only to be choked off by the darkness settling in over the remains of her courage. Linna's other 'lover' ran over to the fallen woman, ending any other gallant ideas lingering in her mind.

As Masaki finally acted, he was still unsure of most of what he had just witnessed. Now that he had seen this Priss person with his own eyes, he had more than a few questions he wanted to ask Linna. However, from looking at her current pained state, he was more than willing to wait. Masaki looked around at the crowd standing off in the distance, watching the proceedings. He could only imagine what their take on the situation would be. And with a small town, there would be no way to hide from all the rumors that he knew would fly after this.

Priss thrust the helmet onto her head, fired up the engine and, without bothering to back out of the slanted parking space, recklessly shot over the top of the curb, turning onto the grass for an instant before shooting back onto the pavement and out into the open road, leaving the former Green Knight Saber broken in her wake… just staring at the ground in shock, inconsolable even by her male companion.

The skidding tires tore out part of the well-manicured lawn surrounding the fountain. With time, grass would grow once again even in the deep rut left in the ground. However, even if the surface appeared healed from a distance, the permanent scarring would still be visible the closer anyone dared to look.

After a few kilometers of anger and bitterness, the shield protecting her battered soul weakened enough to let the reality of what had just happened sink in. With that reality, the tears finally came to Priss. Even with the road before her blurred through watery eyes, she didn't dare slow down. All she wanted to do was to get away from Linna as fast as she could.

With the tears came another problem for the singer… the song she had meticulously assembled on the course she was now reversing. That song began to play itself to her, seemingly mocking her shattered heart for being so foolhardy as to open up to someone again. She shook her head in reaction to the unwanted accompaniment. _Stop it… Just stop it!_ she pleaded with the haunting lyrics, but found it no use. The song wouldn't stop repeating itself in her mind. Finally Priss thought of a solution. Turning on the infrequently used stereo system in her bike, she blasted whatever disk happened to be inserted through the speakers in her helmet. Her ears were rewarded with a near mind-numbing blast of an electric guitar followed by some badly off key screaming masking itself as singing. The quality didn't matter, just the fact that she had a welcome distraction was enough. When she began listening to the lyrics, she had to smile at the random choice selected by the electrical component. Sometimes it made her wonder if the damn thing wasn't really alive after all…

_So I'm headin' out to the highway_

_I've got nothin' to lose at all_

_Gonna do it my way_

_Take a chance before I fall_

_…a chance before I fall_

Even when the cover from some foreign band ended, the translated words played on in her mind as the meaning lingered as well… _"Take a chance before I fall…" No reason to hold back now…_ she resolved to herself, gunning the accelerator as hard as she could towards the distant Megalopolis ahead. She knew she was already falling… the problem was Priss had no idea just how far she would fall before this night would end…

* * *

The first thing Linna became aware of was her mother's panicked voice screaming at her. She looked up and realized she was standing alone on the grounds of her home, Masaki's jacket covering her around the torn shirt she had on. She hadn't passed out… not physically anyway. Mentally, she was in a different world… a world of cold emptiness.

"Linna! Linna, what happened?" Misa frantically yelled out to her daughter as she ran to her from the front stairs of their home. "Oh My God! Did… Did that… that… man to this do you?" she stammered out, assuming the most likely horrid scenario from her torn shirt and dirty appearance.

"no. no not Masaki…" Linna answered weakly, barely recalling the brief conversation they had had after the incident just a short time ago. She remembered through the mental fog telling him at least twice that she would be OK and that he didn't need to see her to the door after parking just outside the entrance to her home.

Now she wished Masaki were here so she wouldn't have to explain any of what happened to her mother… especially recalling just what her mother had asked her the previous night. _"Is that really what you want?"_ a warning about going on the date with Masaki when her heart seemed to pull her another direction… those words like some accursed prophecy that had come to life just to ruin her own.

"What happened then?" her mother pleaded with her for an explanation. She threw an arm around Linna's shoulders for support, fearful that a strong breeze could blow the weary girl over right now.

Linna's glassy eyes stared straight ahead as she spoke. "she came… she came to see me…"

"She? She who?" When Linna didn't answer the wheels began to turn in Misa's head for a second… before stopping on one name in particular… a name that would explain Linna's condition. "Priss? Did Priss do this to you?"

"…she's gone now… not coming back…" Linna answered distantly, hearing her mother but not truly 'hearing' her. She methodically pulled away from Misa's arm and plodded zombie-like up the stairs, into the house, and into her room where she closed the door behind her. Linna didn't come out the rest of the night… leaving her distraught mother wondering exactly what had happened and if she could do anything at all to help.

* * *

The two-wheeled behemoth roared into the outskirts of the city limits with its driver oblivious to the world. She hadn't noticed the several separate police vehicles that had vainly attempted to chase her, nor did she notice the beginnings of a roadblock ahead of her. The leather-clad rider was simply lost in the music playing in her helmet, concentrating on nothing but whatever song was on at the time. A flash of blue lights just to the side of the road finally brought her senses back to reality. Priss realized with a smile just what they had been trying to do. _Guess they want to play… Well, I'm game!_ she planned out despite her aching body and nearly empty gas tank. Priss looked ahead and took note of the darkening evening skies being hidden by very ominous clouds ahead._ Looks like there's going to be a storm on the highway tonight…

* * *

_

Leon wasn't paying much attention to the surrounding city moving around him. From within his patrol car, he was in his own world, ignoring even the idle attempts at conversation from his partner… until Daily began talking to the totem pole about a certain chase underway somewhere else in the city.

"So how long have they been chasing this biker now?"

"At least an hour from the way the traffic guys are bragging about it," the distracted dispatcher relayed to Leon's partner.

"Do they know who it is?" Daily asked.

"I don't think so. All they keep talking about is just how fast that red monster is going. They don't have anything on the ground that can keep up with it, and the choppers aren't maneuverable enough under the tunnels to watch it all the time."

"Red monster?" Leon asked, curiosity peaking.

Daily began to follow his lead. "Thanks Joel," he replied shortly, cutting off the channel and switching to another frequency. "Go ahead. I know you want to ask," he punctuated by looking over at his partner who was now pulling their own patrol car over to the side of the road.

Leon queued the radio. "Nene, this is Leon. You there?"

"Yes Leon-poo. What is it this…"

"Cut the crap for a second and listen," he interrupted harshly. "There's a chase the traffic guys are all over right now. I want to know who their chasing and where they are."

"What do you think I am? Your personal…"

"NENE! The word is they're tracking a large red bike that's outrunning everything they've got short of helicopters…" Leon clarified.

The dispatcher on the other end acknowledged his request with one word. "Priss…"

"Just make sure. That's all I'm asking."

"Hold on a sec," she replied as the channel went silent. After a few tense moments, Nene's screaming voice exploded through the radio's speaker. "They just ID'd the plates on the bike! It's Priss! And she's headed towards the North side on the Bayside expressway!"

The patrol car spun around before Daily even realized Leon had taken it out of neutral. "Hang on, it's gonna get bumpy now. Nene, give me the fastest route to intercept."

"Need I remind you that you're not in the regular police any more detective McNichol," Daily spoke with a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

"You can jump out anytime you want Wong. I'm not just going to sit here and listen to Priss destroy her life."

"I don't recall her asking for your help."

_Sometimes you don't realize you need help until it's too late…_ Leon kept that thought born from personal experience to himself as Nene's programmed directions began to feed into the road chasers navigational display.

* * *

Priss wasn't sure how long she had exactly been leading them around, nor did she know how long she would last. All she cared about was raising as much hell as she could before it all ended. Let's see if the bastards can make this turn . The red machine pitched wildly to one side, tires screeching in response to the shifting weight above as Priss maneuvered the bike around a tight exit ramp. She did a complete loop in order to head back the opposite direction for a couple of traffic filled blocks. Too crowded she decided and turned right sharply to head back towards yet another entranceway to yet another on-ramp. After a couple of weaves and bobs coupled with close calls, she found herself back on the open road again with no police cars in sight. Amateurs

As she sped down the highway, another car entered the road momentarily ahead of her from another on-ramp before she flew past it. The highway she was on was devoid of any traffic making the former biker-gang member suspicious. _Looks like they're waiting for me…_ Sure enough, just around the next turn was a roadblock set up for her arrival… well almost set up. One side of the road had yet to be totally blocked off. At the speed she was traveling, Priss had a split second to make a decision. _Not sure if there's enough room, but I'm not ready to quit yet…_ Hugging the right wall as close as she dared, Priss lifted both legs from the sides of the bike and threaded the space between the blocking patrol car and the wall. Narrowly missing the car and the tire shredders lain out in front of them, sparks briefly flew off the right side of the bike as she made contact with the wall. With a monumental effort, she kept her balance and the bike upright, moved away from the wall and replaced her legs back on either side of the machine. Priss' heart raced with the shot of fresh adrenaline washing through her blood at the close call. She screamed out a victory cry to the wind in her face, punching a fist into that wind for good measure. A lightning flash from the bubbling clouds overhead answered her call, momentarily revealing the entire city around her from the shadows they hid within.

Getting her bearings, Priss realized she had broken the police containment and was now headed towards very familiar ground… the earthquake-ravaged area of MegaTokyo. As she passed yet another on-ramp, yet another civil servant vehicle entered the highway just in front of her, flashing lights illuminating the concrete walls on either side of the still empty highway. Priss found it more difficult to pass this car… and it seemed vaguely familiar, especially when she noticed the ADP logo on the side. Pulling up alongside the right side of the road chaser, she looked into the window long enough to recognize the driver… who was looking right back at her with pleading eyes. _Leon? I should've known he'd stick his nose in this!_ Priss matched his speed as she gave him her best _"What the hell are you doing here?"_ look she could muster.

The ADP officer raised one hand up and brought a thumb across his neck and then gave Priss the thumbs down sign – _Kill the engine now_ - trying to get her to stop while she still could.

The biker shook her head, refusing the order and began to accelerate past him.

Leon put everything the car had and then some into keeping up with the woman on the bike. Somehow the modified patrol car had just enough to stay with her for a few moments… before she hit the brakes and swerved behind him and onto an exit ramp to the right. He was so focused on catching up to her that he never even saw the ramp she took… until the next ramp came just a hundred meters later blocked off with some wooden planks and plastic construction barrels. He shot through the temporary barriers on both sides of the alternate ramp and wound up just behind the startled Priss on the elevating highway.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Daily screamed at him.

"Wherever she decides to try and go."

"What if that ramp wasn't finished back there?"

"I guess your family would find out how good the death benefits of the ADP are."

"Wait a minute… this ramp… looks familiar. This is supposed to go to a bridge…" the spectacled officer didn't finish the thought.

Leon caught onto that train of thought and tried to shove the accelerator through the floor. Not much road left then… "I suppose it's too late to lodge a complaint with the highway department over inadequate barricading."

"I vaguely remember a construction boomer going rouge around here a couple of days ago. I think it threw itself off of a bridge… What do you think the odds are that it took the permanent barriers with it?"

"Just my luck…"

"Not yours… hers," Daily said motioning to the red bike they weren't catching up to. "Do you think she knows that?"

"Right now, I'm afraid that's what Priss is counting on…" Leon spoke darkly as he prepared to meet the shortest, and at the same time longest, thirty seconds of his life.

* * *

Another pair of eyes 'watched' the chase as it proceeded through the dimly lit streets of MegaTokyo. _…They like to play… I want to play too…_ the being followed them from afar… through the eyes of her children scattered throughout the bustling city above…

… just as someone else had thoughts of finding the being below. Brian J. Mason watched the darkening skies and swirling clouds through the windows of the GENOM tower, but wasn't concerned with the worsening weather in the least. _How much longer will I have to wait? What is taking so long to find you my child… Where are you hiding?_ His thoughts turned to the group unknowingly aiding in his own quest. He turned from the window to his laptop, looking over at the set of four pictures displayed in front of him… four different women. With the break of discovering the truth about the Hugh Geit employee through her e-mail's, the others had been easy to identify. "Two current actives… two on the sidelines… What are you going to do Sylia? How can I help you help me?"

Sylia couldn't help herself at that moment, much less anyone else. Her body lay doubled over in the hallway of the Lady 633 building with shaking hands gripping both sides of her head. The migraines plaguing her while wearing her hardsuit were now following her out of it as well. This one had come on quickly, catching her completely off guard. Nigel's warning echoed through the waves of agony that crashed over her temples… _"Your brain patterns have changed too much… you can't go out like you used to…"  
But I have to… I've got to find her first…_

Sylia tried to stand up but the second she lifted her head up, the hallway began to spin wildly around her… nausea threatening to overwhelm her. She fell back over in a heap, holding her head again. _"… somebody… help… please…"_ she croaked weakly, hoping that anyone could hear her. _"… Henderson… Mackey… anybody…" _

While her trusted butler wasn't too far away in the building, Mackey was taking advantage of the break from the search to catch up on some work he was doing for Nigel. He was too lost in that work to notice the waves of clouds racing by overhead. Out in the garage, his greasy hands flowed over the machine before him, sensing all the ebbs and currents of the manufactured design. Not only could he 'see' the parts before him, he could also feel the intent of the design, including unintended shortfalls. He could even see faults in the hardsuit designs. He contemplated one such flaw and a possible upgrade to a certain red hardsuit.

As he did, his thoughts turned to the young woman that wore that hardsuit, and the feelings he had for her. He wasn't sure what to call it, although one word he had researched seemed to apply in this case. He just wasn't exactly sure how Nene would react if Mackey told her that he thought he loved her…

…not that Nene had time to think of her significant other at the moment. She was frantically trying to figure out where Priss and Leon were going since the map she was looking at said they should be driving in the middle of an office complex right now. "Leon! Where are you again?" 

"I'm going up a bridge," he answered flatly.

"But there's not… oh no…" With a couple of keystrokes she brought up another map showing proposed road changes and additions. "LEON! You're on the Kanto Memorial Bridge!"

"Sounds about right," his partner answered for him.

"But… But it won't be finished for two years!"

"Hope they can finish early then… we've got about 15 seconds left of road from what I can see…" Daily remarked tensely.

Leon's whole body was sweating profusely as he tried to will every ounce of horsepower possible from the complaining metal block cranking furiously just under the hood in front of him. _No, dammit! You've got to see it… This is pointless… Why are you doing this Priss? Can it really be because of that Linna woman?_

That woman lay face down on her bed, head tucked in her folded arms around her tear stained pillow. The tears had long since dried up, but the lingering ache would last for a very long time_… if not forever..._ Linna's depressed mental state convinced her broken heart. The only light illuminating her dark room was from the computer monitor still on. She had turned off the screen savers a few days ago so she could see Priss whenever she saw the computer. Even when she thought Priss would never answer her, she still didn't do anything to change the image. That was before Priss had come to see her though…

The image from the screen reminded her of the images from the fountain… torturing images of the woman she had fallen for… throwing her to the ground… driving off away from her forever… haunting words replaying themselves in her mind… _"… just leave me alone… period!"_

Linna threw her head under the pillow and covered her ears with the feathery lump, trying vainly to block out the sounds in her mind that wouldn't leave her alone… even as the tears began to flow fresh directly onto the bed.

Up in the rapidly approaching distance Leon saw the end… the end of the bridge construction anyway. True to form, any concrete barriers were pushed out of the way leaving the path to oblivion open to whoever wished to walk it… and in this case, that whoever was a young woman named Priss Asagiri.

Priss didn't exactly know where she was or where she was going anymore. The ramp she had taken wasn't one she had been on before. She began to wonder if it really should have been open at all as she started to pass obvious signs of ongoing construction. A few signs whizzed past too fast for her to read, but the color of them began to worry her. She considered turning around until she looked back to see the proximity of Leon, still chasing after her. She tried to see into his eyes… trying to find out why he was doing this… but she couldn't see because of the darkness blowing through the city… the storm about to spring its fury onto the concrete structures flying past her. Priss turned her head back around… only to find she couldn't see the road up ahead anymore. _What?…Fog?_

The pillow wasn't helping, so Linna sprang up out of bed and flung the pillow across the room, smacking with a pop against the far wall. She collapsed back onto the bed and stared at the screen… more images mocking her unmercifully. She couldn't do anything about the ones in her mind, but she could do something about this one. Linna moved her hand over to the mouse and with a couple of clicks, was given the choice to erase the image from the screen.

Leon's own self-preservation instinct took over as he slammed on the brakes, turning the car sideways in the process of stopping from joining the woman off the edge of the bridge. Daily was thrown hard against the passenger side door but continued to watch the progress of their car towards the end of the road with eyes wide open. As the car slowed the surrounding noise didn't relent, causing Daily to realize just how hard the wind had picked up on the bridge. His attention was diverted back to the horrid events unfolding within his field of vision. _"oh god,"_ he gasped at the sight of the red bike driving to the brink.

Leon wasn't watching however. He kept his head down even as the car skidded to a halt with just a few meters of finished road to spare. He didn't want to face his failure. _Either I should have stopped her… or I should have gone over with her…_ his own heart chided him.

Linna paused for a second, thinking of the woman she had confessed everything to… only to have it thrown back in her face…With one click, the image of Priss was gone from the screen… "Just like you… gone from my life forever…"

Priss quickly realized it wasn't a fog bank, as the chasm below became visible below her now airborne bike. Momentary panic was strangely replaced with almost joyous relief as she welcomed the end… _Looks like I'm coming to see you tonight my love…_ With open arms she plunged off the edge of the unfinished bridge and into the depths below, winds howling through the split open Earth below while lightning flashes lit up the sky above. To Priss, it seemed the perfect way to die…

_To be continued…_


	16. Ch 16: Hard Landings

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 16 – Hard Landings

* * *

Within the hospital break-room, the white-coated doctor turned to his recovering comrade with a smirk. He knew this would stir him up a bit… "Hey, guess who just got admitted downstairs?" 

"Wha… who… I don't know… I'm not up for any of your games right now," the other doctor stammered out, rubbing his recent dental work.

"It's an old friend of yours…" the other doctor baited.

The man rubbing his jaw saw the glint in the man's eyes as a pained thought crossed his mind. "No… not her… not that Priscilla woman again…" he stammered out, body beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"Huh? Who?"

"That mad woman who did this to me!" he punctuated by pointing to the bruised and swollen left side of his face.

"Oh… God no…" the white coated man shivered at the terrifying thought of coming face to face with the she-demon once more. "No, just the bypass patient who you've had to operate on three times in the last six months, that's all."

"Whew," the shaken man believingly breathed out. "You had me going there for a second."

"Sorry, but I would never joke about someone like that! If she ever showed up here again… now that would be scary!"

The two doctors turned towards the window of the lounge and watched the storms roll in; darkening skies a prelude to the vicious weather about to hammer into the city.

* * *

It was the first time she had ever flown this high outside of her hardsuit… and Priss was sure it was going to be her last. Her only thoughts were of the one love of her life… Katsuro… and the knowledge she was about to join him on the other side. _Looks like I'm coming to see you tonight… finally…_ the words flowing from the lone remaining warm spot left in her otherwise cold and empty soul. 

The howling winds ripping around her stopped suddenly… then impossibly gathered together from behind her, the black clouds overhead spinning downward towards her at the same time. Priss' eyes darted side to side, watching as the wispy strands raced to cover the machine beneath her, wrapping around her body as well. She became aware of a lack of motion… or more appropriately she realized, a sensation of weightlessness. _Am I dead now?_

It was if the cloud was pulling her into the sky, to join with it. She felt an urge to reach up and touch the boiling mass above her… before a brilliant flash snapped her attention forward. The lightning bolt illuminated the other side of the wide chasm showing Priss the path she was now headed on. Gravity seemed to return to the shocked woman as she watched the oncoming mass of land seemingly reach out for her.

* * *

Daily ignored the screaming voice of the dispatcher coming from the radio. He also blocked out the choked off sobs coming from his partner in the drivers seat. The only thing the ADP officer could watch was the death flight of the woman named Priss. Somehow he could see the tragic beauty of her actions, and that was enough to hold his gaze in horrid fascination. Even the clouds seemed to join in the fascination as they almost caressed her peaking form with their jutting protrusions angling down from the sky above. With a burst, a whole section of the black mass thrust down around the red machine before it could descend more than a few meters downward. Time stood still as the red machine disappeared into those clouds. Daily gasped as nature's fury enveloped the chasm, obscuring his vision for a few moments. Straining his eyes, he was finally able to see the descending form of the biker… but much further away and much higher than he expected. It was almost if… _"...my god…"_ he whispered under his breath. 

"She's gone," Leon darkly assumed, head still bowed on the steering wheel.

"No. I think… she's going to make it across…"

"What!"

* * *

Priss gripped the handles on the bike as hard as she still could and readied herself for what appeared to be one of the worse landings she was ever going to live through. While bracing for impact on the other side of the uncompleted bridge, a burst of wind shot out of the edge of the ravine below, slowing her descent. It was just enough… 

The suspension of the bike was modified to be strong, stronger than necessary for most riders… Priss was no ordinary rider however. Still, it was never designed to withstand what she had unwittingly dealt upon it. The red machine bounced hard at first, nearly throwing the former biker gang member clean off. She fought hard, maintaining her grip on the beast bucking below her. After a few smaller bounces, Priss skidded to a stop nearly a hundred meters from the edge… that's when the adrenaline rush finally caught up to her.

Still upright and in one piece, the crazed woman threw off her helmet, jumped on the seat of the bike and straight into the air, pumping her fist high into the sky and screaming for all to hear. "HHEELLLL YEEAAHHH!" The bike fell over while she was in the air, causing her to land awkwardly on one leg, falling to the ground on her butt. Still, she threw her head back and laughed until she hurt, even through her now re-aggravated vocal cords. She had one of those kiddish thoughts of actually trying it again for just a second… then though better of it as the sheer distance began to dawn on her as she looked back across from where she had just launched herself. _God… I haven't felt this alive in a long time. Even Syila's toys didn't give me this much of a rush. Not since… since… Katsuro…_ As the reality of what had just happened sank into her heart, a gust of warm wind blew through the buildings she had landed between. For just a brief moment, Priss thought they made almost a human sound. To her ears, that warmth echoed off the walls around her and spoke one word to her… she swore it sounded like the word _"Live".

* * *

_

Leon jumped out of the car in time to see Priss jump off the bike on the other side of the chasm. "How in the hell…

"I have no idea," Daily answered from his own dazed state of mind while standing on the other side of the car.

"That must be nearly half a kilometer…"

Just then, the cry from the woman that had just completed the impossible feat reached the two stunned ADP officers.

Daily smiled as he recognized the yell. "I guess someone's a little excited right now."

"I just hope she doesn't try any encores tonight," Leon replied as he cracked a smile as well.

As the echoed scream died away, another fainter voice became audible. Daily recognized the panicked voice coming from inside the road chaser. "Suppose we should let our little blond friend in on the news?"

"I just wish I could see the look on her face," Leon remarked, his smile growing by the second as the deathly fear that had just gripped his own heart continued to slowly lift away.

The sky opened up in that moment, rain beginning to pour down on the two surprised officers. "Guess it's time to get inside anyway," Daily remarked as they both jumped into the shelter the car provided.

* * *

Priss had just looked back to notice Leon still on the other side of the ravine when the rain started to fall, the water rinsing off the miles of dirt caked on her clothes. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, running her hands through her hair in the natural shower. The sight of Leon coupled with the falling rain triggered another memory from the past… of doing nearly the same exact thing. Except that time it hadn't been her hands in her hair… it had been another man's hands… Katsuro's. She stopped for a moment and replaced the present with the past, recalling everything about that time as if it was happening right now. That word echoed in her mind once more… "live". That was the topic of the day… Priss had complained about the rain when she and Katsuro had been out riding, an otherwise perfect day apparently ruined by the rain… at least, until he had suggested other alternatives. Then, while they were entangled with each other, he had said something… just a small phrase… 

"You can't change what life gives you… all you can do is just live it," he had softly preached into her ear… just before he had begun nibbling on it.

As she recalled all sensations of that unforgettable event, Priss found that the rain falling on her face was joined with the wetness of fresh tears. Those tears weren't from sadness however, they were borne from the same passion that Katsuro had filled her with that day… a passion she had unknowingly found once again on the streets of MegaTokyo on this unpredictable evening. As she mentally retraced the crazy route she had taken since entering the city, she reflexively looked back across the chasm to Leon, only to have the line of sight clouded by the shielding rain now picking up in intensity. Sheets of falling water covered the wide gap between the two sides of the unfinished bridge, isolating Priss from the vast surrounding city and letting her eyes and thoughts turn inward once again, thinking back to Katsuro once more.

After a few more minutes of sweet reminiscing, Priss recovered her helmet and approached her bike. With an experienced lift she hauled the monster back up, surveying for visible signs of damage. The only ones she could find were paint scrapes and dents covering the right side where she had momentarily impacted a wall avoiding an incomplete roadblock. Satisfied she would find nothing else without turning the engine over she straddled the beast and hit the ignition. The noise that emanated from the machine beneath her sounded ominously like rocks being shaken in a tin can. After a few tense moments, the noise steadied out to a somewhat less alarming tone. Her HUD and other indicators didn't paint a much better picture however.

With fingers crossed, Priss cautiously tried to edge forward on the throttle. When the wheels of the bike didn't immediately being turning, she pushed the engine a bit harder. A noticeable pop vibrated through the frame as the wheels broke free; the red machine wobbling slightly as the leather-clad singer progressed slowly down the rain slicked streets and towards the trailer she still called home. Getting her bearings in the steadily falling rain, Priss noted that luckily she had landed close to that home in the still unrecovered section of MegaTokyo. By contrast, she also realized that the bridge she had just jumped across would, once completed, bring a disturbing order to her otherwise isolated relief in the city.

While nursing the bike out through the other side of the construction zone, Priss noted with relief the lack of any police presence waiting for her. They probably think I'm coming back the other side… or already dead… A cold chill, aided by the wetness of her clothes, traversed up and down her spine at that thought… just a further reminder of what she had accomplished.

After a few minutes of praying to every God Priss had never believed in before, she finally made it to the trailer. She dropped the stand and killed the engine, noting that she probably had nothing but fumes in the tank, assuming of course it would start up again. With that thought came the realization of repairs… and who would normally work on the bike. A large knot turned over in her stomach at the thought of asking Nigel to help. Officially, he wasn't a Knight Saber. Unofficially, Priss knew he was attached to Sylia at the hip. The main problem was she had been to enough other mechanics in the city to know she didn't trust anyone else to work on her bike.

Pulling an old tarp over the wounded beast, Priss headed indoors to escape the inclement weather. She pulled her helmet off once inside and was setting it on the table when she noticed the object resting idle next to it… the offending object that just 24 hours previous had started the chain reaction of crazy events that had just transpired. Priss raised a shaking fist high above the table, but somehow resisted the overwhelming urge to smash the small phone into pieces. Lowering her arm, she slumped down into a chair and stared at the phone. The bitterness that she had driven so hard to escape flowed back through her blood from its resting spot inside of her blackened heart. She recalled the phone message, the E-mails, the song, the ride into the country, the kiss…then pushed forward in her memory.

She dwelled on the thrill of the chase, riding on the edge with the piercing blasts of guitars and screeching vocals pushing her through every twist and turn of the open highway. Past that, she pondered the picture of Leon's pleading eyes… and all the possible meanings he held behind them. With that internal picture the focus of her attention, she rose up from the table and away from the small, plastic symbol of pain that rested on it. She mindlessly crossed the floor of her not-so-mobile home until she reached the permanently cold shower. Turning the supply on, she peeled off the chilling clothes still stuck to her body and crept in. Even though her shivering skin actually felt relieved by the cold cleansing flow of water, Priss' mind didn't notice. She became lost in Leon's eyes… _Why did you have to find me tonight? Why try and stop me? How much do you know about Linna?_

After as little time in the shower as she could stand and still feel clean, Priss dried off and threw on a shirt and underwear. After noticing that she was absolutely starving from being on (and above) the road all day, she grabbed some quick leftovers from the fridge. That need met, the singer collapsed in bed with some of the music that had accompanied her wild ride following her there as well. Cautious thoughts of Leon intermixed with reminisces of Katsuro and the nearly alive clouds that had somehow aided her rough landing. It wasn't the first time her thoughts were filled with the burly ADP officer… but it seemed like forever ago that he had been in the front of them considering the events after the accident. A worn smile began to crack from behind Priss' shell at the idea of what Katsuro would think of her and a cop together.

As the storm clouds continued to roll through the city overhead, Priss' own thoughts churned over as well… her weary body once again robbed of rest by her own restless mind…

* * *

"Why didn't I just take a bus?" Nene complained to herself as her tired and overworked body threw in protests with every step as well. She really needed some time to think after everything that had just happened on the last shift, and a few extra minutes to herself seemed like a good idea. Add to that fact that after the rain had passed, the air had a certain fresh smell to it that seemed inviting at the time. A couple of kilometers later, it didn't seem so inviting anymore. 

Even with the two days off she had now from her ADP duties, she knew Sylia wouldn't give her any rest as long as they were still looking for that 'phenomenon' somewhere in underground Tokyo. They way her body felt right now, she'd need at least that long just to start to feel normal again. As the muscles in her right leg began to ache in earnest, she found herself longing for Mackey's company… and his expert hands. Somehow those hands transmitted more than just physical relief for the nearly worn out teenager. And right now, Nene needed every bit of emotional relief she could get.

She never considered Priss a close friend, if even a friend at all. Still, her apparent brush with death had shaken Nene almost as much as her own close call just a few days before. It had taken more than just one cup of herbal tea to settle her nerves down after hearing the unbelievable news from Daily and Leon. She had taken some solace in the fact that Leon's voice had sounded nearly as rattled as she felt.

After regaining some of her focus, Nene had begun to monitor the regular police frequencies again when she realized Priss' new predicament. Assuming she really was OK as her field counterparts had claimed, the police wouldn't stop until she was behind bars… or worse. Even if she had quit the Knight Sabers, Nene wasn't going to let that happen if she could help it. She frantically began hacking into the regular police's databases in order to alter or delete all records of her sightings, hoping that in the confusion they wouldn't have enough data to continue to pursue her.

By the end of the shift, the young hacker had fished out the few actual accurate reports in the police computer network and replaced them with conflicting information. The only wildcard was if anyone had a good enough view of the red bike to have a distinct memory to contradict the lies in the system. Nene had bet that Priss' speed alone would have made that near impossible, not to mention the darkness and the sudden rainstorm.

Nene sighed in the present as she thought about how lucky Priss was not only to be alive right now but to not be in jail as well. She realized that if the strong storms hadn't blown in when they did, the police's regular helicopters would have been following her up the bridge and would have found her on the other side. Luckily, the only pursuit Priss had at the time was in the form of Leon, and Nene was sure he wasn't going to tell where Priss was.

The blond haired girl spotted a bus stop up ahead and scurried on to find the schedule posted inside a weather barrier. She cross-checked the bottom of the schedule with her watch… "Dammit," she softly moaned at finding she had missed the last bus by just ten minutes. She looked down the sparsely busy road with sagging eyes as Nene began to drag herself the last few kilometers to the Silky Doll. "I'm going to start wearing my hardsuit to work if Sylia wants me to keep this up…"

* * *

Millions of stars shone brightly against the black background of the country sky overhead. Even the brilliantly dull arcing smear known as the Milky Way was clearly visible in the moonless night. This spectacular view went unappreciated by the inhabitants below however. They further ignored the warm gentle breeze blowing through the trees closer to the ground, as well as the night creatures rustling through and under those trees. The focus of these particular inhabitants was clearly introspective in the case of one, and squarely on the inwardly directed one in the other. 

The older woman sat with her legs crossed facing the back of that other person. The other woman, still wearing the same dirty and torn shirt, wasn't aware of her elder behind her. For that matter, Linna wasn't aware of much of anything at the moment. As she lay on her side facing the lush countryside, the only thing her eyes were focused on was the inside of her eyelids… and nothing Misa tried could rouse her from her slumber. That was because the rest wasn't exactly a naturally induced one. A fairly tall and very empty bottle of saki sat upright just next to the stone drunk woman lying pillowless and blanketless just outside of her home.

Misa hadn't realized Linna had even left her room, or that she had gotten the saki from the wine cellar. She wasn't even sure what time it was now, only that it was very late and she was very tired herself. She wasn't getting much sleep anyway when something had triggered her motherly "it just doesn't feel right" instinct, causing her to get up and check on Linna. When she didn't find her in her room, Misa began the second panicked search for her daughter in as many days.

She didn't see Linna as much as smell where she was by the stench of alcohol coming from the open door to one of the porches of the house. Following that smell, she found her and immediately began to try and wake her. A few slurred mumbles and jerks of her body told Misa that Linna was alive, if not entirely well. Attempting to lift the drunken woman by herself only proved that her daughter had grown quite a bit since the last time she had tried to carry her anywhere. So she had simply sat down behind her and proceeded to watch Linna's breathing while Misa tried to figure out what to do next.

After a few more minutes of struggling to keep her own eyes opened, she finally settled on a "wait till morning" approach. She stood up and crossed the house into Linna's room where she found her pillow resting on the floor against the wall opposite the bed. Picking up the pillow, Misa pulled a blanket off the bed while noting the computer screen was darker than normal. The computer was on as evidenced by the icons on the desktop. However, the background image of two hardsuited figures was removed… replaced with an empty black void of nothingness.

Even though Misa knew exactly why Linna had done it, the discovery still surprised and saddened the older woman. She left the room behind and found Linna still on the porch outside, lying exactly as she had left her. Misa gently tucked the pillow under Linna's head and drew the blanket to cover over her ripped clothes. Before leaving, she leaned over, brushed the oily, sticky hair out of her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Linna stirred slightly at the caring touch and mumbled something under her liquor-laced breath. Misa thought it sounded like she had said "Priss", but wasn't exactly sure. Linna's body fell still once more except for the repetitious rising and falling of her side barely visible under the blanket.

Linna's mother sighed deeply, and then let out a weary yawn. She turned around sluggishly and left her daughter to try and get some much needed rest. As she climbed back into bed, she finally glanced over at the clock, thinking about how soon she would have to get up in order to drive Linna to her scheduled doctor's appointment… assuming she actually thought she could get her there based on the shape she would likely be in the morning. Misa pondered that thought for a while before another lingering concern drew out of the background… the balance between hiding Linna's personal problems with the need to explain some things to her father. Even if he somehow didn't notice Linna sleeping outside in the morning, he'd definitely take notice of the missing bottle of saki later. _I'll worry about that in a couple of hours… besides, he never gets up unless I kick him out of bed anyway…

* * *

_

_… oh… oh god… not now…_ the white hardsuit shakily thought while holding both sides of her helmet. _Not yet… haven't… got there… got to keep… going… _struggling to keep her thoughts to herself, not wanting to distract Nene from her own ongoing search. Sylia had just dropped down to one of the lowest levels she had been to yet when the walls had begun spinning on her, causing her to lose the grip on the large gun-like sensor she hauled. It fell to the ground with a resonating metallic clang.

With strained effort, she reached down with one arm while steadying herself with the other. Picking up the detector, Sylia staggered down the tunnel she had found bringing her close to the intended inspection point. She focused her eyes enough to tell she was only a few meters away from her virtual goal when a nearly invisible green wave shimmered through the cavern. As it passed through her hardsuit, the walls pitched violently causing Sylia to crash headfirst into the solid concrete below… her world turning black instantly.

* * *

The vaguely familiar roar of a motorcycle accelerating roused a very still Leon McNichol from the depths of his own blackness. The brightness of filtered daylight temporarily blinded him as he turned his head reflexively in the direction of the departing sound. His eyes focused just in time to make out a large red bike with a very familiar looking woman atop as she quickly rode away through the ruined buildings surrounding him. 

Leon shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he realized he was sitting rather uncomfortably on a concrete slag. Confused, he looked around to try and get his bearings, only to find himself staring at the large yellow trailer beside him. Everything came back to him in that instant. He remembered riding out on his own bike after his shift was over, telling himself he just wanted to make sure Priss actually made it back to her trailer in one piece. He had only found out where she lived a couple of days previous during some of his mostly fruitless personal investigations into the woman he suspected of being the blue Knight Saber.

After discovering her bike under a tarp next to the trailer, Leon had started to leave when second thoughts stopped him in his tracks. There was so much he still wanted to find out about her… and after nearly losing her forever a few hours before, he didn't want to just assume he'd get another chance later.

Not brave enough to knock on the door at the late hour it was at the time, Leon had instead decided to wait, guessing that Priss wouldn't be sleeping in given her rather erratic behavior of late. Leon looked down at his watch, noting that he was right in that assumption. It wasn't even seven in the morning yet and Priss had already left for somewhere else. The ADP officer sighed as he wanted to kick himself for falling asleep and missing his opportunity, although he wondered why Priss hadn't tried to wake him… politely or otherwise.

The large man stretched out his long arms as he vainly attempted to work out the kinks from his unconventional sleeping arrangements. As he lowered his arms, his left hand brushed against something fairly hot. His reflexes pulled his arm away as he looked down into a cup of what appeared to be hot, fresh coffee. Leon had to rub his eyes again to make sure he was really seeing what he thought was sitting beside him. He looked up in the direction that Priss had driven off as a small grin grew across his face.

Lifting up the cup of coffee, Leon wondered if he wasn't going to find out at least some of the answers to his questions after all.

* * *

"Sylia! Sylia!" The voice shouted through the helmet of the unconscious woman. That voice began to draw her out of the reprieve, and back into the terrifying world filled with shards of pain and waves of agony. Still she resisted, her subconscious trying to shield itself from the danger outside. 

"Sylia! Where are you!" Nene screamed into the tunnels below, unable to get a firm fix on her location due to unknown interferences in the dark underground. She had frantically searched for the last hour solid, using the last of her precious spare batteries in the process. "Mackey, anything?"

"I can't get a better reading no matter what I try," he responded in frustration, staring at the blinking signals in front of him from his remote console in the Lady 633 building. According to his screen, Nene should be right on top of Sylia. For some reason, reality wasn't matching indications right now, driving home a sense of helplessness he hadn't felt since Nene's near brush with death.

A weak groan broadcast over the com channel, startling both searchers.

"Sylia? Sylia, where are you! Talk to me!" Nene blurted out while cautiously watching her sensors for any better indication of where the Knight Sabers' leader had fallen. She held her breath waiting for a response. Finally, sensors flared showing something moving not too far from where the Red Saber currently stood.

"I've got something!"

"Is it Sylia?" Mackey questioned expectantly.

"Hold on. I'm checking," she cautioned, sprinting through the tunnel she was in. Homing in on the new signal, she found it pulling her through a broken section of the wall. Proceeding cautiously, Nene climbed through a pile of debris to emerge into yet another tunnel. Another groan crept through the com system as she hurried in the direction of the signal. Rounding a dimly lit corner, a light colored metallic shape lay sprawled out on the ground, a familiar looking object dormant by her side.

"I found her! Sylia! Sylia, can you hear me?"

"… unnnh… N… Nene?… Wh… where am…" she started to ask as she began to pull herself upright. The thought of motion from her mind fed into the hardsuit, which started to respond as well. Before she knew what was happening, sonic waves of fire shot through her temples, scattering any coherent thoughts she may have had. Balling up into a near fetal position, the suffering woman clutched her helmet, moaning in unrelenting agony.

"Sylia, what's wrong?" Nene cried, not understanding what was happening to her leader.

The moaning and shouting threw Mackey into fits as well. "Nene, what's going on!"

"Sylia's curled up on the ground… holding her helmet… Wait… the headaches!" the not-so-young teenager finally pieced together some of the puzzle in front of her. Putting a hand on the fallen white hardsuit, Nene wasn't sure how to help immediately. Deciding there wasn't much she could do underground, the Red Saber tried to lift Sylia, only to have the still groaning suit stiffen at her attempt. "Mackey, I can't carry her like this…"

The other teenager had some theories based on his hardsuit research with Nigel that quickly came to mind. "Try getting her helmet off first… see if that helps."

"O… Ok," Nene answered waveringly, not sure exactly where this was going and not exactly feeling comfortable with her surroundings. Deciding they were as isolated here as anywhere, she reached down and, as gently as she could, lifted the helmet from Sylia's resisting hands and off of her head. Beads of sweat rolled off her forehead as the blank glaze covering the white haired woman's unresponsive eyes startled Nene. Sylia's hands reflexively returned to hold her throbbing head, still groaning audibly from the unrelenting stabs of torment.

"Sylia… Sylia… " Nene softly called to the shaking woman on the floor. Not seeing any immediate effects, she knelt down to her head while continuing to call her name. Prying back one of Sylia's trembling hands, she held it in her own… and was rewarded with a returning grip from her fallen leader.

Slowly the mental fog lifted from her eyes as the pain began to subside, thoughts becoming coherent once again. "Wh… What happened… my… my helmet's…" she complained, starting to pull away from Nene and search for the concealing object.

"No! Sylia, stop. We think that's what's been causing your headaches," the Red Saber chided, holding firm onto the hand she had in her own.

Sylia continued to struggle, finding her helmet and grabbing it with her free hand. "… got to… find her… can't stop…."

"Her? Who are you talking about? Wait! Sylia, hold on!"

Nene watched in helpless frustration as Sylia managed to pull her hand out of the armored grasp and remount her helmet. She continued to watch as the White Saber tried to pull herself up, managing to lift up her torso with shaking arms. Just as one armored leg was drawn up underneath to push Sylia upright, a piercing scream blasted through the com channel.

Nene's own hands jerked to her ears to vainly try and block out the deafening sound, her whole body wincing from the pain. While busy attempting to relieve her own discomfort, Nene found herself unable to help the stricken leader of the Knight Sabers.

The white armored figure arched impossibly backwards, her whole body shifting from face down to upright, then falling backwards in an instant. Sylia's armored hands once again grabbed both sides of the helmet in a pointless attempt to help. With no support, her head slammed backwards into the concrete, neck snapping violently from the involuntary collision… blackness once again overcoming her conscious mind.

"Sylia! Nene, what's going on! I thought I heard Sylia through the com channel again!"

Nene didn't immediately answer as she checked her readings from her hardsuit, making sure the White Saber was still alive. "The idiot put her helmet back on again! She fell and hit her head into the ground. She's unconscious now, but I think she's OK otherwise." Testing the now limp white hardsuit, the Red Saber hauled Sylia up on her shoulder, picked up the detector with the other arm and started to head out of the underground maze. "I'm heading up with her now," she announced, concern filtering through her otherwise disgusted voice.

"OK. I'll get Henderson and Nigel and tell them to be ready," Mackey replied while thinking ahead.

"Tell them to bring something to tie her down with. We've got to keep her out of her hardsuit!" she commented seriously, while exiting one tunnel and emerging into another.

"Maybe Nigel has something…" the young boy started not so innocently.

"Mackey!"

"Sorry… it's just…"

"Oh shit… my battery!" Nene interrupted worriedly, noticing for the first time just how low her last energy source had drained to. "She had been so concerned with Sylia the blond girl had forgotten about checking her own power supply. Carrying the extra weight of two detectors and a hardsuit as well wasn't helping matters either. Running as fast as she could given the awkward stance she had to take, Nene managed to reach one of the higher stairwells from a ruined subway station before the battery died. "Oh… Oh God!" she exclaimed, dropping the now immensely heavy detectors along with Sylia.

"Nene! Where are you now?" Mackey frantically called out to his teammate.

"I'm n… in a subway stairwell."

"Does Sylia have any of her spare batteries?" he suggested.

Nene's own armor grew heavier by the second as she collapsed beside Sylia on the vacant stairs, unable to support the weight of her own hardsuit with her otherwise frail frame. "N… No. I d… didn't see any," she struggled out, panic overtaking her previously calm voice.

"What about Sylia's battery?"

With Sylia lying face down on the stairs, Nene was able to see that as a fruitless exercise as well. "Just about dead… assuming I could get it off of her… since… I can barely… rais… m… han…" her voice trailed off as the signal strength began to weaken considerably.

Before she could finish the sputtering message, Mackey sprung from the chair of the console and over to one of the lockers in the pit. Searching for what he was sure had to be somewhere close by, he began ripping through equipment on every shelf. A cracking voice drew his attention away after about a minute of searching.

"…key… Ma… p.. er … dead n. sig…"

"Nene! Just hold on. If you can still here me, I'll bring spare batteries out to you!"

"…K…" was his static filled answer.

He tore away from the console and through the pit, looking for the mobile detector he needed to find the hardsuits… trying not to think too much about the woman he was so concerned about, helpless, and alone except for his unconscious sister by her side.

* * *

"A week! You can't be serious!" the leather-clad woman swore out at the unfazed mechanic carefully inspecting the barely standing remains of her bike. 

"Could be sooner," he reevaluated… before one of the forward struts completely cracked in half as he tested its residual strength with one finger. "…might be longer…"

Priss huffed at the news, and at her helplessness at the situation. She knew there was nothing she could do to change what was already done, but the thought of being without one of her most necessary crutches for more than a day was painful nonetheless. "Are you sure… At least a week…"

"With all the damage to the frame, I'm wouldn't be surprised if it didn't require a total rebuild from scratch," Nigel added without a hint of compassion. "Of course, it wouldn't take as long if I knew I could count on help with this."

Priss thought about the comment for a second before giving up on the true meaning. "What, you want me to help you?"

"Actually, I was referring to the lack of assistance I'll have… when he finds out I'm working on your bike."

Priss understood his meaning now with a deep frown. "So just what are you suggesting I do to change Mackey's mind? And just why wouldn't he want to help out with my bike… it's not like he's…" Priss started before having doubts about what she knew about the current internal workings of the Knight Sabers.

Nigel continued to pull out cracked and broken pieces and Priss turned over the situation in her mind. "Would he really hold that much of a grudge against me?" she asked, internally wondering if it wasn't for her bike if she would care at all.

"He's worried about Nene being on her own now."

"It's not like she's alone. Sylia's helping her, isn't she?" Priss thought she realized the fundamental error in her question as soon as she said it… she just didn't know how right she was.

Nigel answered by picking up a socket set and sizing up the one he needed.

Even though she didn't really expect him to answer, the fact the mechanic didn't still angered her. "Well, do you still hold a grudge against me too?" Priss bitterly asked, long dormant emotions for the person who maintained her bike cracking through the surface as well.

Nigel stood up and without looking at Priss walked over to one of the cleaner benches in the garage and grabbed a laptop. Priss watched with growing fury as she tried to figure out if he was still ignoring her or if this was her answer in some odd fashion. After a tense minute, a printer across the garage began to whir as a lone sheet of paper emerged into the output tray. Nigel crossed the distance to the printer and retrieved the paper. He walked directly up to Priss and handed her the page without so much as a sliver of emotion on his face. "Your estimate…" he announced as she took the paper from him with confusion ruling her thoughts.

"Why… What the HELL!" she fired out at him with only a verbal assault, although she considered much worse. Looking back down at the sheet of paper, the numbers sent her mind spinning. "God… Over a million…"

Nigel remained in his still stoic approach. "I couldn't give you the usual employee discount this time. Feel free to try somewhere else if you're not happy with our pricing."

It took everything Priss had left to keep from launching herself at the much bigger man. "Damn you Nigel," she seethed out between her clinched teeth. She crumpled up the page and flung it across the garage leaving Nigel to clean up the waste.

A ringing phone from within the building pulled the mechanic inside as Priss stormed out, not waiting around for any more abuse to be dealt her way. As she walked down the sidewalk towards a payphone, Priss realized that the bill would wipe out half of her savings. Coupled with the fact she was her own manager for the band… and that she often lost money trying to keep the band together and playing frequently (especially with studio fees), she'd be in serious financial trouble if anything else happened soon. She began to realize just how much for granted she had taken Nigel's help before… and how much she missed the extra paycheck from Sylia.

"I'm not some call girl though!" she resolved through her hatred at the way Sylia had used her in the past. Reaching the phone, she dialed up Maxon's number as she thought about what to do for transportation for the day. She realized that with a show tonight, she'd probably be OK. She just didn't like the idea of relying for anyone else for a ride...

* * *

Masaki put down his briefcase to answer the ringing phone that had caught him just before walking out the door. "Hello?" 

"Masaki? Glad I caught you before you left," an older male voice answered on the other end.

"Dad? I was just leaving now. You didn't want me to be in early today, did you?" the blond man questioned a tad nervously, mentally reviewing what might be the reason for his early morning call.

"No. I just wanted to talk to you about something before you got here," his father replied sternly. "It's about that Yamazaki girl you went out with yesterday."

While glad that he didn't live with his parents, Masaki knew that being in the same small town with them didn't provide anything in the way of shelter from their continuous inspections. "So you heard?"

"I would apologize for setting you up with her, but you seem to have forgotten your priorities, now haven't you?"

"And what's that supposed to mean," he replied with a hint of anger creeping out of his voice.

"I'll admit I had no idea about that girl's other… interests…, but pursuing a relationship with someone who has a fruitless future like hers…"

Masaki tuned out his father after that. Despite being afraid of this very situation arising, he had convinced himself that he could handle his parents if things really did work out between he and Linna. That's why he realized it was pointless to argue with his father on this issue. After yesterday, he didn't see any possible way he could ever work things out with the woman who he now realized he knew so little about.

* * *

The reverberating sound of a door slamming shut shook Misa from her light slumber. Her eyes quickly focused enough to realize that her husband wasn't in bed anymore. Glancing around, she noted with growing anxiety that he wasn't in the bedroom anywhere. Springing upright, she immediately found the clock. Alarms sounded off in her head as she discovered what time it was. "He wouldn't have left for work yet!" Misa began reasoning nervously with herself as she leaped out of bed and threw on her robe. Questions and concerns surged through her mind over what she didn't tell him last night about Linna and what he might be finding out right now. She hadn't been too worried about him waking up and finding Linna since he never got out of bed without her incessant prompting in the morning. However, she hadn't slept much after finding the rough condition her daughter was in just a few hours previous. As a consequence, she had overslept and for once, her husband had apparently gotten out of bed by himself. Nearly sprinting out of the bedroom, she flew through the house looking for any clue as to what was going on. 

She was turning the corner towards the kitchen when a pale, deathly figure nearly ran into her from the opposite side. "Linna? You're up…" she started before more important questions came to mind. "What's going on? Did your father see you?" she spat out intently.

Linna tried to answer before swooning against the wall and barely holding herself upright. She groaned out a protest as a hand shielded her eyes from the morning sunlight. "Wh… Why was I outside?" she squeaked out, apparently ignoring her mother's questions.

Just then the sound of a car starting followed by what sounded like gravel being torn out of the ground filtered through the thin walls of the house.

"Oh no," Misa cried out rushing to the front windows to see Linna's father tearing down the road from their home. She ran back to Linna who was now crumpled over on a chair at the kitchen table, holding her temple with both hands. "Did he say anything… before he left?"

"Who?" Linna asked confused.

"Your Father!" her mother nearly yelled out from frustration.

"Yeah. I think… something… preaching… to some planners…" the hungover woman tried to piece together the reality that wasn't making any sense, before dropping her head on the table in exhaustion from the effort.

"Preaching to some planners?" Misa questioned, wondering if the saki wasn't still flowing strong in Linna's system for a moment. Suddenly, a likely translation dawned on her mind. "Linna, are you sure it wasn't teach…" she started before bolting into her daughter's room to confirm her fears. Masaki's jacket that Linna had worn home yesterday was gone… and Misa knew the likely reason why. She found a clock in Linna's room and upon reconfirming the time realized she could either try and chase her husband down… except she didn't know exactly where he was going… or she could try and make Linna's doctor's appointment, since she barely had enough time as it was to get ready and drive out to where the office was located. In growing frustration, she walked into the kitchen and looked her daughter over. Although she knew wouldn't like it, Linna probably needed to see a doctor now more than anything else.

With that decided, her thoughts briefly turned back to Linna's father… and where he was likely going. Her lips dreadfully mirrored what her husband had probably said when he found the ragged woman outside, "…teach him some manners…"

* * *

The blond girl stared at the laborious breathing of the unconscious woman, lying sans helmet on the stairwell. Unable to do much more than sit upright, she leaned against a wall on the stairs with her own helmet sitting beside her. After vainly attempting to manually eject the battery and thus open her hardsuit, the smallest saber found herself with one regret. _Just wish I'd joined Linna on a few of her workouts_

With the extra time so unceremoniously given to her, Nene thought back to Linna, wondering how she was coping back home._ I would've E-mailed her… except she said that she needed some time away from us…_ the teenager explained to her own self-conscious. She thought further back to the events that had led to Linna leaving the group, and of the woman who delivered the terrible blow.

Recalling Priss' excursion the previous day, Nene realized she never had a chance to talk to Sylia about it… the Knight Saber's leader had been too preoccupied with getting the night's search underway. Deciding there was no better time than the present… and that she wasn't going anywhere in her armored prison anyway, Nene started off.

Over the next few minutes, Nene recapped all the important events of the previous evening for the unresponsive Sylia. "… then I couldn't find a bus on the way over to the pit…" she continued until the sound of approaching footsteps broke her concentration. Looking up the stairwell, the dim outline of a humanoid shape came into view. Nene's heart stopped for a moment before a joyfully familiar voice called down to her.

"Nene? Nene, it's you!" Mackey cried out, flashlight in one hand, detector in the other, along with a small bag hung from a shoulder.

"Well, who else would it be?" she tried to say in a joking manner, but her voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes at his welcome presence.

"Hang on, I'll have you up in no time," he promised, pulling a spare battery pack and an odd shaped tool from the bag. "Just turn around a little…"

Nene complied as best she could, turning as much as she could manage without risking falling down the rest of the stairs below. The sound of metal on metal behind her unnerved her slightly as Mackey continued to pry at the old battery.

"This is so much easier when the emergency reserve still has power left," he noted dryly. "Ah, got it!" he announce proudly as the distinct clicking sound of latches disengaging reverberated throughout the hallway. "Just one second… there!"

Nene could almost feel the new electricity flowing through her own skin as the hardsuit grew light as a feather on her touch again. Standing up, she was about to pick up her helmet when Mackey threw something else in her direction. She caught the plastic bag in one hand and inspected the markings in the unlit underground by the flashlight Mackey had brought with him. "Chips!"

"Thought you might be hungry. I grabbed a bag on my way to get my bike," he reported. The young boy turned to aid his sister when two strong arms picked him up from behind and turned him around in midair. When they lowered him back down, his back was against the wall and a very appreciative pair of lips were firmly pressed against his own.

After the lingering kiss was done, Nene pulled away from him slowly and spoke directly from the heart without any reservations at all. "I love you Mackey Stingray."

Even though he didn't fully understand all the ramifications of the statement, nor the implications of what this could lead to, he still responded in the manner that seemed the most appropriate… and expressed everything his own soul felt at that moment. "I love you Nene Romanova."

That led to yet another, longer kiss… before Mackey's sense of responsibility kicked in. "W… we've got to get Sylia out of here," he reminded.

Leaving a blushing Nene to her makeshift breakfast, Mackey replaced the battery in Sylia's hardsuit even though she continued to lay unmoving on the stairs. He figured if something happened along the way, it would be prudent to have another powered hardsuit just in case… assuming Sylia regained consciousness anytime soon to do anything with it.

Nene was through the bag of chips before Mackey was finished, replacing her helmet and lifting the two detectors onto a powered shoulder.

Once Sylia's battery was changed, he placed the helmet back onto her head… albeit not without reservations. They both knew that in the daylight, they had to take all available precautions to protect their identities. Nene lifted the White Saber onto her other shoulder.

"See you back at the pit," she called out to the young boy, gathering up the light and the bag.

"I'll be there a few minutes after you are," Mackey predicted.

"Don't keep me waiting," she playfully called back to him as the Red Saber flew up the stairs and towards the surface, Sylia in tow.

* * *

The obviously distracted man sat at his terminal, staring at the blank drafting screen before him. There weren't that many employees in the small architectural firm that his father owned, but Masaki had already heard the whispers from his co-workers. 

"… dumped him for another woman …"

"… what's his problem …"

"… just sat there while she beat her up …"

"… well he seems normal …"

Ordinarily, he wouldn't let outside opinions bother him… but this was no ordinary situation. The crazy whirlwind of events over the last day left his mind and heart torn apart. After all the badly arranged dates he had been forced into, he thought he had finally found the right woman in Linna Yamazaki. Then a woman named Priss had rode over his life, and everything since had been thrown asunder.

Lost in depressed thought, he didn't notice the impending storm rumbling down the aisle towards him until the architect next to him yelled out in protest.

"Hey! Watch it!" the young man exclaimed as an older man carrying a jacket pushed him back into his cubicle.

Masaki whirled around in his chair just in time to see the jacket that he had left with Linna being thrown over his face, blocking out his sight. As he tried to pull the jacket off of his head, the air exploded out of his lungs from a vicious blow to his stomach. Masaki's blackened vision filled with stars as he doubled over onto the floor, hard fists raining down on him through the jacket as he fell.

* * *

"Are you finished yet?" one of the men who had pulled the attacker into one of the adjacent offices huffed out. 

Hirata Yamazaki's breathing finally settled down after a few moments of struggling with the others he had no interest in hurting. He had gotten to the one he wanted, but the anger still boiled deep within him. "Depends on how many teeth he's picking up right now."

"Probably not as many as Yamada had to in that playoff game," a familiar voice spoke behind him.

"Tanaka?" Hirata turned his head towards him in surprise, since he couldn't move any other part of his body because of the three men currently restraining him. "Holy… It is you," he added in a disarming tone.

"I told you I was coming back to town," the man who appeared to be about the same age as the formerly enraged father answered with a smirk.

"Yeah, but you didn't say you were coming to work here."

"I didn't know myself until recently. I just started last week. I think you guys can let him go now," he spoke to his other two co-workers.

They both relaxed their hold, slowly just in case. After seeing the situation diffused for the moment, Tanaka gave a nod to tell the other men to leave them alone. The silently acknowledged, exiting the office room while shaking their heads in disbelief.

"So why'd you use the jacket? In the old days you would have just pulled the shirt over his head and then started pounding away," Tanaka asked with a straight face.

"I wasn't sure if he'd have it tucked in tight… and this former catcher didn't want to take any chances on missing," the elder Yamazaki announced proudly.

"Well, this pitcher doesn't remember you missing too many on the diamond back in high school. I wonder just how much Yamada's dental work cost anyway?"

Hirata laughed as the stress momentarily left his body. "You know, I never did find out. I bet he never charged the mound after getting hit by a curveball again."

"It hit the top of his shoe… I still don't know why he got so upset," Tanaka threw up his arms in mocked disgust.

"Maybe he had sensitive feet." Both men joined in a round of semi-riotous laughter at the shared recollections of past glories.

The new employee gathered his wits first and turned back to the present with a question. "So, why'd you take on the boss' kid anyway?"

Hirata's mood turned dark at the change in subject. "I found Linna pretty messed up this morning after her date yesterday. I owe him more for what he did," he grumbled.

"Is that her side of the story?"

"What do you mean! She didn't have to say anything! Her shirt was torn down the front… arms and legs scraped up… and… and…"

"So she didn't actually tell you though," his old acquaintance persisted. He was answered with the sound of teeth grinding. "Why do I get to be the bearer of bad news?" he mumbled to himself. "Look, I think there's a big misunderstanding unless everything I've heard is wrong."

Linna's father opened his mouth to protest before realizing who was speaking to him. He thought back to earlier in the morning, reviewing his actions. A couple of horrible scenarios came to mind and forced the experienced man to bow his head. "So… what'd you hear?" he nearly whispered.

"Well, if what I heard was accurate, I would've beaten him to a pulp myself it was my daughter he watched."

"Watched? Some other guy did that to her?"

"Not some guy. I heard from more than one person that it was another woman… and he just sat back while she threw her around like a rag doll."

"What… how… who was it!"

"Nobody that I talked to recognized her. She rode in on a bike and then afterwards rode back out. They said she looked like some city rat all dressed in leathers…"

An image instantly came to mind in Hirata's memory… of a woman in a hospital. A dreaded feeling crept over him that there was more to this story than he really wanted to know.

* * *

"So they did finally come up," Mason commented expectantly. 

"Yes, but we received no indications that they found the target," the operative spoke from the other end of the videophone at the executive's desk.

"More problems then?"

"It appears likely. Our lookouts confirmed the boy leaving with some kind of detector and a bag, possibly spare parts."

"What was the condition of the hardsuits when they came back?" the pale skinned man questioned.

"They appeared intact from the outside, but the red one was carrying the white one all the way back to base."

_Sylia… it looks like I won't be able to depend on you after all…_ "Very well then. Mobilize our own team and prepare for operations," Mason ordered.

"Yes sir!" the operative replied, screen blinking out afterwards as well.

Mason thought about the risks he was about to undertake, and the possibility of premature discovery of his operations was the main reason for having the Knight Sabers conduct the search for him. They had tried admirably, but failed. Now he would finish what they had unknowingly started… and Mason would let nothing or no one get in his way now. Just then, a knock at the door drew his attention away from his plans for the moment. "Yes?"

One of his artificial assistants opened the door and walked to his desk. "Quincy would like to have a few words with you at this time, sir. He mentioned that it was very urgent."

_Impossible!_ "Tell him I will be right there," he replied through gritting teeth.

"Yes sir," the boomer replied and exited the room to carry out her assigned task.

* * *

The restaurant was mostly empty due to the early time, still nearly two hours from the lunch crowd. As a result, the silence between the two men who sat in a booth appeared to permeate throughout the establishment. They both nursed alcoholic beverages in quiet introspection. Finally one of the two spoke up.

"Thank you for not pressing charges now. I wouldn't blame you if the desire struck in the future though," the older of the two admitted.

"No. I'm already the king of the water cooler conversations now," the younger blond haired man spoke up.

"You can understand if I have a hard time believing everything you just said."

"Of course… I'm not sure if I believe it myself. I've never had… that… happen to me before."

Hirata winced at the implied meaning of the words, and of the internal questions they raised. "You're sure Linna didn't want her to go?"

"She was pleading with her… practically begging her. All the time… Priss… just kept verbally ripping her until she finally threw her down. But… Linna kept coming back…"

_Priss…_ That name sounded familiar to Hirata from the hospital. _Maybe Misa mentioned her?_ he reasoned as he tried to connect the face he remembered with the name Masaki had just used.

"How is Linna doing now?" Masaki asked with genuine concern showing through his voice.

Linna's father grunted at the pained recollection of finding Linna drunk and sleeping outside just a few hours previous. "That's why I charged you so hard. She was still pretty messed up this morning."

"She never talked to you about it?" the younger man guessed.

"She never talks to me about anything anymore," the elder Yamazaki answered, realizing he had admitted more than he probably should have. "She probably told her mother, but she didn't let me in on it either. Probably figured she would get up before I would this morning."

"Well, I wish she would have…" Masaki added with a slight chuckle while rubbing his sore ribs.

"Again, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"It's OK. This pain is nothing compared to what I've been going through since yesterday… and I'm sure it's worse for Linna right now."

The turn in conversation back to his daughter brought a new sense of determination to Hirata's mind. "Excuse me, but I must be going now."

"You're going to talk to her now?"

Linna's father simply nodded in response and walked out after paying for the drinks.

Masaki watched as the man walked off, mentally reviewing the storm that had struck him before… and pondering the fact that as bad as that had been, it would probably pale in comparison to the one that was about to come crashing into the Yamazaki household.

* * *

Quincy Rosenkreutz looked the tough executive over with the quiet confidence from years of corporate battles fought and won. "So Mason, tell me why the Showhamm project is so low on your priority list these days," the part man, part machine demanded of the suited one standing before him.

"There is nothing more important than Showhamm, Chairman," the scheming man played carefully.

"Then why have you diverted valuable resources away from the project?"

"Which resources would you be referring to Chairman?" Mason continued along his planned path, holding as many cards back as possible.

"Don't play me for a fool Mason. I've squashed many bugs bigger than you before. The resources you tried to deploy to completed sections of the dragonline network have already been redirected to other more important tasks." The genuine shock that registered on Mason's face almost brought a sense of accomplishment to Quincy's mad mind, except he had much more ambitious dreams to achieve than simply correcting the behavior of his top executive. "Before you leave, realize that I know more about your plans than even you do Mason… I suggest you meditate on that for a while before I see you again first thing in the morning."

The defeated man left the horrid chamber with shaken resolve. Once through the door however, he realized the most important point of Quincy's bluff. _If you really knew what my plans are old man, I'd be dead right now._

* * *

Misa glanced over to her daughter riding in the passenger's seat of the car. She still looked to be lost in a different world. That's exactly what the therapist had said as well… before Linna had prematurely ended the pre-planned session with a rather inflammatory series of remarks. That coupled with the silence that followed the long ride home made Misa rethink her decision to follow through with the appointment.

"You know you could have been a little more cooperative with the doctor Linna."

The hum of the engine answered her comment.

"If you don't cooperate with the specialists, your company will stop paying for them."

"Good," she sharply retorted through her lingering headache.

"Ah, it speaks!"

Only the wind rushing outside laughed with Misa.

"Look Linna, since Hugh Geit is supplying the help, why don't you at least try and work with them. You never know, it might actually help."

"Why bother."

Misa hands began to shake on the steering wheel. She nearly pulled the car over but realized they were too close to home to stop now. "That's not the Linna Yamazaki that I know talking. That's not the woman who came back from a knee injury to take second place at the section track meet her senior year."

Tires rubbing the worn pavement agreed with her as Linna continued to blankly stare out into the countryside.

"You've never given up on anything your entire life Linna. You certainly didn't quit when that doctor said you'd be lucky to walk without a limp much less compete on the track again," Misa continued to preach until a bitter voice cut her off from the other side of the car.

"That's before I was told I had a ten percent chance of something resembling normal… and that's only if I go through some experimental surgery," Linna spat out through watering eyes. "I've got a better chance of serious complications than anything else out of their suggestions… and I'm supposed to try and work with them! " she nearly screamed out before falling back into the throes of depression. "And you know the worse part… I keep thinking that this ten percent is all I've got left to live for. I screwed up my chance with things in Tokyo… I've ruined everything I've had here… I've… I…" she finally broke down completely, turning back towards the window in choking sobs of emotional agony.

It was Misa's turn at silence this time, as the depth of her daughter's pain left her speechless. After a few minutes she finally began to respond. "Most of this is because of Priss, isn't it?"

The mention of the singer's name caused Linna to wince, but did manage to focus her thoughts enough to attempt a reply. "Yes… No, not really... It's not… she's just… part of it. I… really screwed things up… with Masaki," she sniffled out as she began to piece together all the fragments.

The mention of the man's name surprised Misa. "What really happened?" she asked softly. Linna still hadn't talked with her over any details of what happened the previous day. All she knew was that Priss had shown up and Linna was much worse for wear because of it.

Before Linna could answer, she noticed that they were home as her mother pulled into the driveway. The sight of a familiar car distracted Linna from her train of thought. "Dad's home?"

Misa hadn't bothered to try and talk to Linna again about her father leaving this morning since she wasn't completely sure why herself. Plus she was too worried about helping her daughter recover from her activities much earlier in the morning to try and discuss it with her. "He usually doesn't come home for lunch," she reasoned aloud.

She parked the car as they both got out, Linna still walking on unsteady feet as Misa helped her up the stairs to the door. They both entered the house to find Linna's father sitting on the couch waiting for them… holding Linna's torn shirt in his hand.

"What are you doing home?" Misa asked shakily, almost fearful of the answer as she stopped beside her daughter to stare at the man who despite his familiar dress and outward appearance, seemed more like a stranger for some troubling reason.

Hirata ignored the question as he rose up from that couch and strode directly up to a stunned Linna. "Can you explain to me why, in the middle of town, you would turn your back on your date to argue with another woman… who then would do this to your shirt?" he fired out with voice rising while holding the object in question out in front of him.

Linna would ordinarily never back down from an argument, especially with her father. But, after all that had happened in the last day, she was in no shape to fight with him now. She turned her head, hiding from the glare he was directing into her face.

Hirata stepped around to look directly into her face. "Well?"

Linna gritted her teeth as she raised her eyes to match her father's stare. "What do you…" she started to fire back until her mother cut her off sharply.

"No! She's not answering that question right now…" Misa shot back, putting a hand between the two would-be combatants. "… not until we talk first," she glared into her husband's face. "Linna, please go to your room," she ordered.

Linna's protesting look was overmatched by the intensity in Misa's own eyes. She bowed her head, quickly storming off to her room, closing the door behind her.

"So what do you have to say?" Hirata chided in a cold tone.

"Not here," she answered simply, heading off to their own bedroom on the opposite end of the spread out house.

Hirata reluctantly followed her lead, more interested in answers than with trying to make a statement by fighting over trivial matters. After both entering the room, the door closed giving them relative isolation from the rest of the house… and Linna. After a few minutes though, it wouldn't matter if anyone was on the other side of the house or just on the other side of their door… the screaming could be heard throughout it all…

* * *

The computer on the executive's desk was filled with images of the ones he had tried to use before, only to have their help fail him in his time of need. _Perhaps they need a little push to get started again,_ he planned out sinisterly.

The main obstacle at this point though wasn't the Knight Sabers internal conflicts… it was in the form of one Quincy Rosenkreutz. How much he really knew of his plans Mason couldn't be sure. However, the executive realized that his normal avenues of information gathering weren't available to him. Thinking further, his boomers were trustworthy, but might draw suspicion and were generally easy to track without modifications. Besides, he had other plans in mind for his boomers…

On the other hand… an employee who's been reprimanded and specifically told to 'meditate' wouldn't be too out of place in a seedy establishment… Mason thought to himself as he read a file on one particular member of the group he was interested in. The name of that establishment written on the screen in front of him was "Hot Legs"… and Mason was too deep into his plan to trust anyone else for such a crucial move. It would be a much more prudent idea to scout out the territory in person…

* * *

The brown haired woman lay face down on her bed, trying desperately not to hear what her ears couldn't help but pick up through the all too thin walls of her home. She put her hands over her ears to successfully block out the noise. Unfortunately, after a few minutes, her arms tired out. As she rested her limbs, she discovered silence filling the space of her room. Linna sat up, wondering what had happened. Suddenly the booming voices picked back up again, breaking the lull and frustrating the young woman past wit's end.

She folded over, head falling into her hands as she rubbed the sides of her face to help relieve the stress building from within. _It's my fault… again… still fighting over me…_ It had been an underlying fear that her own problems would eventually drive her parents apart. Now those fears appeared to be coming to life as the screaming continued at a torrid pace, driving tears from her pale violet eyes. After a few more minutes of torture, she couldn't take any more.

Flying out of her room and out of the house, she ran towards the back of the property, stopping by the same supporting tree she had leaned against just before her walk to the pond with Masaki. With her feet still, she listened to the relative quiet of the summer shade, her parents arguing voices but a black cloud hanging on the back of her memory. That black cloud wasn't about to dissipate though. Chills ran up and down Linna's spine at the situation she knew she couldn't escape. She dreaded the fact that she would eventually have to go back in the house and face the horrid aftermath.

Linna folded her arms protectively over her pained midsection, flaring up she guessed because of the sprint out of the house, or perhaps from the aggravating stress. As the chills continued to coat her skin despite the warmth of the outside air, they penetrated to the bone, causing her to clutch herself even more tightly. She started to lean on the tree for support… the tree that had stood tall for as long as she had been alive. Her subconscious told her not to trust its support though, fearful that it might crash to the ground as well… just like everything else in her life that mattered in the last week.

She stood like that, shaking, isolated, alone, for what seemed like an eternity, confidence shattered.

"Linna!"

The sharp voice of her father from behind her shook the fragile frame of her body even further. She blinked out more tears as the sound of approaching footsteps behind her rose out of her sniffling sobs. Terrified at the possible outcomes of their argument, Linna couldn't bring herself to turn around to face him.

"Linna…"

The proximity of his voice caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand, but at the same time, there was a disarming tone that drew her around to look into his face. Linna didn't recognize the man standing before her as her father. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him cry, which he obviously couldn't help since the tears were falling faster than he could wipe them away. Her heart began pounding as the sight of her mother standing just behind him, tears falling from her face as well gave Linna hope that they had somehow worked things out. Then her father began scolding her.

"Don't ever put on one of those hardsuits again without telling me first!"

The expression on Linna's face contorted wildly at the meanings behind his admonishment… before he reached out and pulled her into a genuine, heartfelt embrace. Tears fell on both shoulders as the bond between father and daughter was reestablished. "I… I'm sorry," were the only words that would come to Linna's quivering lips.

"I'm just happy you're alive," Hirata comforted as he continued to softly cry.

As the two leaned on each other for support they were joined by a misty eyed Misa, who held on to both of them tightly.

The reunited family stood together under the sheltering tree, supporting branches protectively outstretched to filter the summer sunlight. Just above them, one smaller branch grew at an odd angle from of a large one, stretching out its lone leaf to the sky. An ugly scar covered one section of the small branch, perhaps from a bud torn off during a storm in the spring. The larger branch continued to hold the smaller one upright, stretching out its own leaves to provide some shelter for its small offspring... giving it a chance to grow as best as it still could.

* * *

The crowd was abuzz with energy, sensing the fury about to be unleashed within the enclosed space. It was almost if they could somehow feel the anger within the lead singer even before she took to the stage. With lights dim, the band marched under the cover of darkness, preying on the expectant mass of humanoids beneath them.

A blinding flash of rainbow colors coupled with the grinding of the heavy axe set the stage on fire, driving the crowd into a frenzy of adrenaline laced chaos. Priss reveled in that chaos feeding off of it, letting it fill her soul. Then leaning hard into the mic she returned the gift back onto the crowd, vocal chords shredding the last remaining vestiges of order from the exploding building.

The former Knight Saber let everything out, emptying her mind, body, and soul onto the stage, calling on the rage within her hardened heart to give her the strength to perform this night. The myriad of highs, lows, and everything in-between that she had been through the previous days flowed through her being and into the speakers surrounding the stage. She belted song after song over waves of sound, crashing down onto the worshiping throngs of people below.

The crowd whipped into a whirling mass of intensity at her fingertips, falling under the spell she cast out through the electricity in the air. The bouncers struggled with the surging mass as the establishment filled past the brink of insanity and spilled into the streets, word spreading throughout the district of the event occurring at Hot Legs. Soon even the street around the club filled with onlookers hoping to get a glimpse of the near mythical performance ongoing inside.

Priss continued to hammer out note after note, ripping into the dying line of people in front of her, letting the bouncers drag them onto the street, others taking their place in line, waiting on their turn… she was more than happy to oblige them. Still, even as she tried to pour out all that she was, something held back. Through all the metal grinding, fist pumping thrashing lyrics she screamed out, something still held back. Even after all the legendary cover songs, the encore, and the second encore, something within her still held back.

Even though her heart knew what it was, her body continued to pump out the energy, vainly trying to relieve that something within her… although her mind realized there was only one way to do it. Priss shuddered in-between encores as the thought of what her mind was planning played in her mind. She looked over the band and saw the end, understanding that this was their last song. They stood onstage together one final time, playing one last song… a favorite around the club from an old group named "The Replicants". Once finished, Priss nodded to her bandmates after a couple of bows, but held her ground under the lights. The crowd quieted under a semi-drunken state of confusion as the singer threw off her signature red jacket, pulled the mic up to her lips and began a solo ballad.

To anyone else, the song was simply about two friends, co-workers or bandmates perhaps, finding common interests from vastly different backgrounds. Those two friends worked alongside each other, fighting a common cause for different reasons. Finally, an accident driving the two friends apart to their different lives… until both realized their differences were drawing them together.

To anyone else, it was just a simple song of two people finding a common love between them… anyone else except for one person standing above the crowd… one person who had finally made his way to the front of the stage. Leon gazed up into the brown eyes of the woman he had fought so hard to find out about over the last week. Once Priss had started the ballad, he knew… he understood everything now. The joy of relief at the discovery was balanced by the words he heard from the woman he wanted so much to get to know… the words that spoke of love for another. His heart sank at the revelation.

As she neared the end of the song she had worked so hard on just one day previous, Priss hung on to consciousness hard as she could. Her body was driven past the brink by the encores, and her mind had long since shut down from the effort to maintain her focus. The only thing still keeping her upright was her broken heart, singing itself out of existence. As she finished the last lyrics she had completed before finding Linna in the arms of another person, her heart reached out through her eyes and focused onto the tall man standing just below her. The familiar eyes of the man she didn't want to fall for, had fought so hard to avoid, locked onto hers in a death spiral… pleading eyes begging her not to drive off the bridge once again… calling her back… back from the brink.

Without the aid of her mind or body to hold her back, her jaded heart improvised the rest of the previously uncompleted song. Firing out the last lines of bitter betrayal, the stunned crowd swooned with the unexpected ending… almost mirroring the shock of understanding tattooed onto Leon's face. As a last repentance, the singer looked directly into the eyes of the man before her and with a simple twist… opened up to him and relented control of her emotional ties to the past.

The song finished, the silent crowd stood together in awe for a few moments, before a deafening roar of approval blew down the walls and flooded the stage with praise. It was a magnificent performance to most, an incredible revelation to another, but to the shadow of a man in the back, it was the missing pieces of the puzzle he had been looking for. The out of place clothes he wore were expertly hidden in the crevices of the building… almost as if he always dwelled just beyond the usual reach of society, only to lash out when least expected.

That man went unnoticed by all, but especially by Priss. The singer wasn't noticing much of anything anymore. The pulsing crowd before her wavered in her vision as she leaned hard against the mic stand for support, completely drained of all she was… heart, mind, soul, and body… she had left it all on stage. Unable to steady herself, her vision suddenly filled with stars. She tipped backwards slightly, overcompensated, then fell forward… towards the mass of people below.

The bouncers were too busy keeping order by the stage to help, their focus out towards the crowd but not up on stage at that moment. The band was already in the back, showering up and getting ready to relax in the small lounge.

Priss' body spiraled downward, vision filled with stars and the floor of the stage… letting the blackness take her away from it all. A sudden surge spun her around, righting her before she could hit the floor. Her eyes focused momentarily, curiosity briefly winning out over the void calling her name. She looked into the overhead lights and could barely make out the face of the one whose arms she had fallen into… before the depths of exhaustion won out. As Priss fell from consciousness, her heart, mind, and soul took comfort from the knowledge that her body rested in the arms of one Leon McNichol.

_To be continued…_


	17. Ch 17: Reenlistment

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 17 – Reenlistment

* * *

Soft melodies of harmony drew the person from beyond the depths of sleep, pulling the senses out of their resting places. The harmony resolved itself into gentle humming, mingling with a reddish maroon tint on the inside of the eyelids. _What time is it? _Cracking open those eyelids, the flood of bright sunlight forced them closed once more. Becoming aware of a warm touch caressing the chest tickled the rising senses, further bringing the person back to consciousness. The distinct scent of something familiar rose thoughts of the previous night from the corners of the memory, drawing one question to the mind of the person lying in bed… _Is she really still here? _

All of Leon's other senses showed him the answer, but his eyes still had to check… just to be sure. He turned his head towards the melody and carefully, this time, opened his eyes to a heavenly angel resting beside him. Glowing eyes gazed back into his own, the shine of afterglow still illuminating the visible parts of her bare skin lying next to him in bed. Despite the tangled, scruffy hair, the dark circles under the eyes, and the underlying exhaustion still visible throughout the whole of her body, Leon swore he had never seen a more beautiful sight in all of his life. He let himself fall completely under her spell, woven from the musical cords flowing from her soul, punctuated by her shapely form barely hidden by the thin sheet barely covering her body.

An urge to reach out to the woman across from him spurned Leon to roll over onto his side. His hand flowed with slow, deliberate motion, crossing the small space between the two of them, coming to rest with fingers intertwined with the hair just above her contented smile.

Priss lifted her fingers from Leon's chest and took that hand into her own. She brought it to her lips and softly kissed the palm before resting their joined parts on the bed between them. She continued to reverberate the liquid notes through her recovering vocal chords, the improved condition of them not dawning on her mind. All conscious thought was pushed to the background by the warmth flowing through her heart and soul, locked in the rhythm they had reached together the previous night… that rhythm broadcasting itself back to the man lying across from her. Then Leon spoke.

"I don't think I've heard this one before."

The humming stopped, as the rhythm was broken within Priss' soul. The smile faded from her lips as she pondered for a second on which tract to follow… _It's so much easier to be bitchy with him _The singer rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling of the foreign space. "It's one I wrote a long time ago," she answered carefully.

"What's it called?" Leon asked innocently.

"Changing Seasons," Priss replied, eyes still fixed on the white ceiling.

"Have you played it with the band before?" he continued, curiosity growing.

She paused for a moment before answering distantly with a single word. "No."

"Why not?"

Her lips lowered into a frown as his incessant questions began to grate on the nerves slightly. She knew it wasn't his fault, but it didn't make the situation any easier to deal with. _This is what happens when you dive in with both feet… _she chided herself internally. "What did I tell you before?"

"You wrote it a long time ago?"

"Last night you idiot," Priss growled at him.

"I don't remember much talking last night," he added with a heavy smirk.

That earned Leon a sharp jab in the ribs courtesy of a right elbow.

"Oww! You didn't have to hit so hard," he complained lightly, at first thinking it was just a playful jab… until Priss rolled out of bed. "Wh… Where are you going?" Leon asked, genuinely concerned.

Priss answered by gathering up her clothes from the floor and walking out of the bedroom without so much as a look in his direction.

"Shit," the now alone man grumbled to himself. "Sometimes I… damn," Leon swore again, suddenly realizing what Priss had been getting at.

"_You talk too much."_ The last words she had spoken to finally silence him just a few hours previous, before devouring him with passionate kisses.

A brief idea of trying to catch the woman before she left crossed Leon's mind before the sound of the shower starting halted that train of thought. A second, more sensual idea came to mind… before Priss popped her head in the door with a deep scowl across her face.

"Got any clean towels around here?" she demanded, her tone ending any other pursuits in the back of the man's mind.

"Linen closet's just around the corner to the left. Don't mind the mess in there," he answered from the thin ice he now knew he was standing on.

The singer once again left without a word, light footsteps barely audible on the carpeted surface.

"Guess it's all downhill from here," the ADP officer mumbled to himself. As he listened to the sound of the running shower, Leon thought back the pinnacle of last night, and to the flood of events that had led to it. Watching Priss on stage, hearing the song anonymously dedicated to Linna, Priss passing out, falling into his arms… The bouncers were going to take Priss from him at that point, until Leon had flashed his badge. _Thing really comes in handy sometimes _

Taking Priss back to her dressing room, he, with various staff and the band, stayed with her until she came around a few minutes later. It only took another minute before the fiercely independent woman had kicked everyone out of the room… Leon included. He wouldn't leave the outside of her door though, still worried about how she would make it back to her trailer in the shape she was in. Leon stood, back against the wall for what seemed like eternity, waiting for Priss to come out. One of the band came up to him first. Maxon, Leon thought he remembered, asked him if he was going to leave.

"No, not until I know she's going to make it back to her place OK."

"What are you driving?"

It seemed like an odd question, but Leon had answered it anyway. "Just a bike," replying simply as he was more concerned with Priss' condition than starting a technical discussion.

"A bike. Well, sounds like things are covered then," he remarked with a smirk Leon hadn't understood at the time as the guitarist walked out.

A few minutes later, Priss emerged from the dressing room with a fresher look on her face… until she saw Leon standing there.

A few unreadable emotions had crossed her pale features, until she spoke simply. "Why don't you just go home?"

"Not until I know you're going to be alright. I couldn't follow you across the bridge last night, but I've got no excuse now."

Something that almost looked like a smile flashed through her lips, before the frown returned. "I'll be fine. I'm getting a ride with someone else anyway."

"Oh," he had replied unable to hide the disappointment. "I guess your bike wasn't as lucky as you were then."

"No, not really," Priss had remarked simply, effectively ending the discussion by the low tone in her voice. She closed the door to her dressing room and turned to leave.

"I guess I'll see you around then," Leon threw out, not really wanting to have it end there, but not sure what else to say at that moment. As he watched Priss walk down the short hallway to the back exit, a burst of inspiration came to him. "Wait!"

The singer stopped and turned her head around at his call.

Leon closed the gap between them as he spoke. "I wanted to ask… why did you leave me that coffee this morning?"

Priss turned her body around partially, but only enough to face the wall, not looking him directly in the eye. "Just my way of saying thanks." She began to leave again, until Leon's voice stopped her once more.

"Thanks for what exactly?" he asked not in a leading tone, but a sincere questioning one.

She turned only her head back towards him once, didn't speak, then shifted it forward again. With obvious indecision, Priss sharply turned her head back towards the encouraged ADP officer once more… before finally facing the exit and suddenly walking out without ever answering his question.

The sound of the heavy metal door slamming shut punctuated the shock Leon felt in his heart at that moment. He knew he was close, still had so many questions he had wanted to ask. He stood in the empty hallway for a couple of minutes mentally berating his indecision before a banging at the door drew his attention. He opened the exit only door to a very pissed off Priss, as evidenced by the swearing that followed her back to the dressing room.

Leon stayed close behind her as she ranted. "Goddamn son of a bitch left me… I told him I needed a ride…"

"Who?" he asked innocently, although he was beginning to think he knew the answer.

"Maxon, that dead ass guitarist… I'm gonna shove that…"

"I think he thought I was giving you a ride," Leon realized with a smirk he now understood, cutting off the rant.

"What!"

"He saw me outside your dressing room before you came out. I told him I was going to make sure you made it back to your trailer… He must have just assumed…"

"I'm gonna _assume_ that bastard…" Priss started before Leon cut her off again.

"So why don't you ride with me then? It's not that far out of the way for me anyway."

That stopped the raging Priss dead in her tracks, as she just stared at Leon with disbelief.

"I owe you for the coffee this morning anyway," he threw out, hoping to shift the balance in his favor.

A couple more unreadable expressions crossed the singer's face before answering with a defeated sigh, shoulders drooped low. "Why not."

A huge grin plastered across Leon's own face at the victory. "Alright then. My bike is just around the corner in the back."

"Just a minute." Priss reached into a drawer and pulled out her wallet, the real reason she had come back to the club and not just called a cab, placing it into her jacket.

They exited together this time, walking the short distance to Leon's bike in just a couple of minutes but without saying another word between them. Leon got on first then slid forward to let Priss on the back.

"I don't have a spare helmet with me," he admitted as he guessed as to why she hesitated to get on.

Another unreadable expression crossed Priss' face before she gingerly climbed on, staying as far back as she could on the bike… and away from Leon. She held on as loosely as possible as he started the bike up and drove off.

They rode a few kilometers with only the accelerating and decelerating of the small engine speaking for them. As he drove, Leon could feel the indecision in Priss' arms around him. The first few turns were a bit perilous, as they were completely out of synch with coordinating the road together. But with every turn of a corner, with every lean they made together, she began to pull closer to him… making the ride easier as they progressed through the empty streets of the overnight. Leon's own heart was pounding from her proximity, and he wondered if she could feel it beating within him. Without a helmet on, her ear rested directly on his back… along with the rest of her body a short time later. By the time he turned the last corner to her trailer, they accomplished the move in one fluid motion. They weren't riding as two individuals anymore, they had become one… or at least that's how Leon felt anyhow.

As Leon turned off the engine, Priss relaxed her grip and climbed off. "Thanks," she said genuinely. One hand lingered on his shoulder for balance as she briefly stretched.

Leon took his helmet off and dismounted to stand beside Priss, taking the hand that she had left on his shoulder quickly into his own. He guessed her reflexes were off because she didn't immediately pull away from him. _Still so much to ask… where to start… _But even as he considered the possible questions, he could see the sleep in her eyes as she stared into his own. But as he gazed into the brown globes, he could see deeper still… past the shell she lived inside, past the heartbreak, deep into her soul. Without considering the consequences, he swiftly bent over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Your welcome," he added pulling away as he relaxed the grip on her hand.

Leon expected a slap, kick, or maybe just a verbal assault. What he received instead couldn't have shocked him any more. Grabbing onto his releasing hand, Priss had pulled him into a second, more passionate kiss that lingered until Leon's breath gave out. After a moment to recover, their lips met again, mutually this time.

Everything that happened past that point was but a blur in Leon's mind. Some comment or question had led them back to Leon's apartment. Once there, he had babbled incoherently for a couple of minutes before Priss silenced him with her forceful words and, better still in his own biased opinion, her strong actions.

Leon reveled in the shared intimacy for a few minutes before questions began springing into his mind… _What next? How does she really feel about me? We barely talked… _And that thought scared him more than any other. They hadn't talked much, and not about anything Leon still had questions about. The biggest question in his mind was about the Knight Sabers, and Priss' connection with them.

As Leon thought about how to potentially broach the subject, another pained thought crossed his mind… _How will she react if I do ask her about them? _More to the point, he was worried that the closeness that they now shared would be broken forever if she even had the inkling that he knew before last night. He could hear the bitter aftermath in his head already… _"Just wanted to score on one of the Knight Sabers huh? Take this you Goddamn ADP pig!"_ At first, he imagined a painful kick to the shin before recalling that thought for a more likely attack. The vivid scenes playing out in his mind forced the shuddering Leon to reflexively cover up his manhood despite the fact the Priss wasn't even in the room with him.

Focusing on the changing tones of the shower flowing through the hallway to brought Leon back to the present reality… and the mood swing Priss had currently fallen through because of his big mouth. _Got to be some way I can make it up to her. Well, it is breakfast time… _

With that flash of inspiration, the big man crawled out of bed, threw on some sweat pants and a T-shirt, and headed for the kitchen. _Sure hope I can find something in here she'll like… _he hoped, realizing once more just how much he still had to learn about the enigma named Priss.

The soft notes continued to flow from beyond the glass door just above the natural harmony set by the unnatural waterfall. Even as she continued to hum, the woman lingered under the warm liquid spraying over her weary body, her mind spinning at the thoughts of the last twelve hours, or more importantly, the lack of them. It wasn't that she couldn't remember what happened; it was simply that she let her heart lead the way… for better or for worse.

Not that the intimacy she shared with Leon was bad… she found her cheeks flushed at the detailed recollection of just how passionate she had become last night. It was as if something within her had finally been released, feeding off of the pent up energy remaining in her body. _Where did all that energy come from anyway? _she thought from the crystal clear recollections. Priss didn't understand how she had lasted after leaving everything she had on stage… literally.

Maybe that was the answer to her questions though. She had left everything on stage, but in the end left her heart out to Leon. He had taken it into his own… but she wondered now as her mind engaged if their budding relationship would last, or for that matter, even if she really wanted it to. Was just one night all she really wanted from him, or was it more.

The words to the song from the past scrolled in her mind, mirroring the concerns she had.

_The constant change of seasons _

_have brought us together_

_But as the leave blow by_

_I have to wonder_

_Will the next winter_

_See our love simply die…

* * *

_

The monumental door closed behind the sharply dressed executive, pale smile slithering across his sharp features. His morning meeting had gone quite well. _All the right pieces are nearly in place, and the old fool doesn't even realize it after all _He strolled confidently into his office, not even considering the threats to his position that Quincy had attempted to rain down onto his chaotic parade.

By taking an old nearly-forgotten project, _Lazarus_, and infusing it with some fresh blood overnight to give it the appearance of long winded development, Mason knew he had thrown the old man for a loop. Instead of cutting off the real thrust of his objective, Quincy had taken the bait on Lazarus and thus left Mason's real target wide open… _and she still has no idea what's coming _he cruelly smiled inwardly.

His plan was still risky, but after the revelations at the establishment he had personally scouted the previous evening, he wasn't concerned with the outcome any more. It was just too perfect… "Love is such a beautiful instrument," he announced to the cold air surrounding him as Mason sat at his desk, mentally gathering the rest of the necessary tools to assemble his personal machine of destruction.

* * *

Nene walked up to the door for the third time, pausing to reconsider if she really wanted to go through with it. Something in the back of her mind nagged the ADP dispatcher, warning her of the consequences. However, there was one thing holding the young woman fast to the door… the stabbing ache in her heart from the young boy she had fallen in love with... 

After bringing Sylia back to the pit and making sure Henderson and Nigel were attending to her, she had asked Mackey about that "Her", the one Sylia had ranted about before collapsing in the underground complex of tunnels again. The teenager had only been told they were searching for a phenomenon, an 'it' by her understanding, not a 'her'… not some person as Nene now feared. She had thought Sylia's delusional condition might be to blame… until Mackey had answered her.

"I wish I could tell you… but you'll have to ask Sylia," he had evaded.

"Why? Why can't you tell me?" she had tried to argue with him.

He looked away in silence, eyes darting back and forth to the side in obvious disagreement with his own thoughts.

"Mackey, what's down there? What are we looking for that has Sylia practically killing herself to find? Why did she call that… that… whatever it is "her"?"

"I… I can't…"

She had tried a softer approach then, taking one of his hands into her own… only to have him pull away from her touch, turning his back on her. That had hurt the young woman more than anything he could have said. She stared into his back, trying to see what Mackey was hiding from her. A troubling thought suddenly came to the forefront of her mind, causing her to blurt out the question before she even considered the consequences… "Does this have anything to do with your past?" She instantly regretted the words spilling from her mouth, the promise, the trust built between the two of them, broken in her mind.

Mackey had simply bowed his head and walked away, leaving the bewildered Nene in his wake. Her jumbled thoughts depressed by both his lack of response to the question and the fact he didn't even seem to care enough to accuse her of breaking the promise. The confession of love she had made to him just a short time before seemed like it had been made an eternity ago at that point. She took her own heartache back to her apartment then, restlessly lying in bed for hours, trying to decide just where their relationship stood. As she lay in her bed, she tried to adjust her body to the nightshift schedule she would work next as well as recover from the searches of the last week.

Giving up after only about an hour of sleep, she headed back to the Lady 633 building… and back to Sylia hoping she could answer the questions Mackey was unwilling to. Unfortunately, Sylia was still recovering when she first checked on her just before midnight. So, Nene had decided to continue the search for 'it'/'her'… besides, she figured that if she was finally successful, Mackey wouldn't have any reason to hide his secrets from her any longer.

After four fruitless search runs, the Red Saber had come back in the middle of the night to check on Sylia once again, only to find Henderson tending to her. He let Nene know that Sylia still hadn't come to yet, but that he would let her know when she did. With that, the Red Saber headed back underground for a few more dead-end searches. Heading above ground with empty batteries and an empty stomach, she found sunrise awaiting her this time up. Upon returning to the pit, she had changed and headed upstairs to find Henderson in the kitchen preparing breakfast. After wolfing down a couple of helpings of his cooking, the butler informed Nene that he had already served Sylia as she had finally come around an hour previous. Thus Nene had walked up to Sylia's door, debating on her resolve to find the answers to her questions about whatever it was they were searching for.

Despite the blond girl's hesitation, her curiosity won out as she cracked the door open, peering in to see if Sylia was still awake.

"Nene? Nene, come in," the surprisingly alert woman said instantly noticing her presence at the door.

The teenager slid through the door silently, gingerly pushing it closed behind her as she debated how to ask her questions. She walked slowly towards the bed, not looking up at Sylia as she continued to straighten her thoughts.

Sitting up in the bed, the older woman wore her usual light blue robe, blanket drawn up to her waist. "What's bothering you Nene? It's not like you to stare at the floor like that unless you've got something on your mind."

Nene finally reached the end of the bed at Sylia's feet, moving to one side and sitting down on the soft mattress. "I've just been thinking about what happened to you, that's all," the young woman answered avoiding her true motives for the moment. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.

"I've been better. Feels kind of like a boomer jumped up and down on my head honestly," she added with a slight smile.

A small grin crossed Nene's face before a deep frown replaced it, much to Sylia's chagrin.

"Now what's wrong?" the light haired woman prodded.

She hesitated before answering softly. "It's just… It reminded me of something Linna said at the hospital… the last time I saw her…" she trailed off.

"I know it's been hard on you… it's been hard on me as well having to carry on without either Linna or Priss…"

Nene perked her head up with another look of concern written across her face. "Do you know what Priss did the other day?"

"I haven't heard anything lately," Sylia admitted with a worried tone.

"She went berserk the other night… I was on duty when I heard about an NP chase, only to find out they were after Priss."

"A Chase? What happened? Is she all right? Did they catch her?" the Blue Saber's former leader rapidly spat out.

"She's lucky to be alive… they didn't catch her and thanks to me they won't be looking for her anymore."

Sylia understood Nene's boast with a small grin. "So how'd she get away?"

"Just by jumping across a half-kilometer uncompleted bridge," the teenager deadpanned.

"You're joking…" Sylia said in disbelief, before reconsidering who they were talking about. "What would have made her do that though… she hasn't acted like this since she joined…" The recovering woman stopped her train of thought as she considered the possibilities, turning a budding plan over in her mind even as she lamented Priss' current mental state.

"I think Leon tried to see her the next day, but since we've been between shifts I haven't got a chance to talk to him."

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as it happened," Sylia accused, ignoring Nene's comment and shifting the conversation again.

The blond girl winced at the harsh tone before springing off of the bed and digging in with both feet. "Because you've been so preoccupied finding whatever the hell it is we're supposed to be looking for, I didn't even get a chance to bring it up," she shot back bitterly.

"You could have…" Sylia started before the fiery young woman cut her off with her continued tirade.

"That reminds me, just what the hell _are_ we looking for anyway? You called it a phenomenon before, but yesterday you called it a _'her'_." The face of surprise that stared back into Nene's own slowly began to bleed off her anger.

"I… I don't remember saying that… I… must have been delirious for some reason…" the bedridden woman attempted to explain, genuinely unable to recall using the term in front of the other Knight Saber.

Nene's anger instantly boiled over again. "You may have been _'delirious'_, but you sure knew what the hell you were looking for… even Mackey knows it's true, although he won't tell me what it is either... he told me to ask you," she punctuated by staring directly into Sylia's wide-open eyes.

Sylia instantly understood the young girl's rage at the mention of Mackey's honest betrayal. "So this is about Mackey then…"

"Not as much as it's about you Sylia. You practically killed yourself yesterday. Why? What's so important down there?"

The light haired woman's eyes broke contact with Nene's as she collected her thoughts for a moment, pondering how to navigate through the murky waters before her.

The young teenager's patient ran thin as she watched Sylia's eyes dart back and forth, but not at her. "Well, who is she?"

"Nene… I… I don't know how to explain…"

"Explain what? Just tell me who we're looking for."

"I can't do that."

"Just like your brother," the embittered woman grinded out accusingly. "Fine, I'll be back after work in the morning. If you want my help looking for _'her'_ anymore, I suggest you change your answer." With that, Nene turned and marched out of the bedroom, leaving a bewildered Sylia reeling from her forward approach.

"You're definitely not the same girl I recruited a year ago," she told the closed door that the young woman had just stormed out of.

* * *

"That's the one thing I started to miss in Tokyo," Linna huffed out while shoveling with the trowel.

"What's that?" Misa asked, arranging the fertilized dirt around the transplanted flower in the ground below her hunched over body.

"Greenery. Everything in Tokyo is so… so artificial. I never thought I would miss the country, but sometimes I just missed the color green.

"Is that why you wore a green hardsuit?"

That drew a chuckle out of the young woman working carefully on her hands and knees. "No, I think that was Sylia's idea to tag me as the green member of the group."

The sound of the phone ringing drew both women's heads up from their tasks. Mother looked daughter in the eye as the phone rang again. "I'll get it, "Linna volunteered first, quickly springing to her feet… but with a muffled groan as one hand reflexively covered her midsection.

"Are you OK?" Misa asked rhetorically.

"Fine," the other woman gritted out as she turned and hurried into the house.

_I knew I should've gotten up first _Linna's mother chided herself. _She's never going to heal at this rate _

Inside the house, Linna shuffled into the kitchen with a slight limp. Hitting the receive button on the vidphone, she was greeted with an audio only note on the screen. "Hello?"

"Hi," answered a familiar masculine voice. "Is this Linna?"

The voice sent nervous shivers through her body at recognition of the person on the connection's other end... as well as another fresh stab of pain in her abdomen. "Yes. Hi Masaki."

"Hello Linna. I hope you're feeling better now?"

"A little," she answered honestly. "How about you? I hope my dad didn't do any permanent damage," Linna commented half-jokingly.

The voice on the other end replied without a hint of sarcasm. "Nothing physically anyway. Look, I wanted to talk to you about the other day."

Linna had to consciously swallow her fear at the topic. "OK."

"But not on the phone," he corrected. "Would you mind going out tonight to talk?"

The young woman thought for a second before moving forward. "I think that would be best. Where do you want to meet?"

"I know a family run Korean place not too far from your house. It's out of the way so I don't think too many people will be there to bother us," he suggested.

"OK. Does six sound good for you?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll pick you up then?"

"OK," Linna agreed.

"See you at six then."

They both exchanged goodbyes as Linna hung up the phone, mentally preparing for whatever might happen later in the evening… pleasant or otherwise.

* * *

"What do _you_ want," Sylia seethed through clenched teeth at the voice on her own audio only connection.

"Why Sylia, no 'How are you doing?' or 'I've missed talking to you lately'?' the antagonistic voice on the other end baited.

"How about 'I'm sorry to see your funeral delayed much longer than it should be.' Is that better Mason?"

"Ha! Still have that little spunk I remember so well my child."

"Don't ever call me that again!"

"Hmm, we are quite touchy today. I suppose if my own operations were going as poorly as yours are right now, I'd be upset too."

"Just what are you talking about?"

"Well, I've found that an outside venture of yours isn't performing up to capacity as it was, say two weeks ago."

Sylia took little consolation that the video link wasn't active. "Just which venture are you discussing? I have several currently underway."

"I've been interested in this particular operation for about a year now. However, its rather underground nature has been especially bothersome for certain individuals in my company for the past week or so."

"So why don't you just eliminate this operation if it's so bothersome?" Sylia pried, fighting to maintain her composure.

"I think you're use of the word 'you' may be a little broad, Sylia. These certain individuals aren't necessarily privy to the information I have, and for good reason. Besides, why would I want to eliminate something that's helping my personal agenda?"

That statement triggered several alarms within the woman's mind. "So what would your personal agenda be?"

"The same as yours in this case. Your success is my success in this venture."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Since I am technically a competitor, what other benefit do I gain by your success?"

That was the question Sylia couldn't answer herself right now. "So since you know about my current logistical limitations, why call me now?"

"Ahh, right to the point. Well, I have an idea that might help that little problem of yours."

"What idea would that be?"

"I think an associate of yours has recently changed her career goals if I'm not mistaken, perhaps because of an incident with a fellow co-worker… a mutual acquaintance of ours actually."

That statement left little doubt as to the depth of his knowledge. "A Genom subsidiary, if I remember correctly," she volunteered in a calculated manner to test his knowledge for certain.

"Hugh Geit to be precise," Mason clarified. "In any event, I'm willing to intervene on your behalf to see if we can't have this associate reconsider their career choices."

"What kind of intervention do you have in mind?" Sylia queried, barely able to hide the real fear of turning control of any part of her operation over to this despised man.

"I can't discuss the details of that at the moment. I'm certain you can appreciate the need for delicacy in this matter."

She didn't like it, but Sylia was becoming desperate… especially given Nene's recent turn in attitude. "Yes, of course. So do you require any assistance of mine then?"

"Actually that is the point of this discussion. I wanted to be sure that my efforts weren't in vain in this case. Do you still have the associate's equipment; computer, files, necessary office space; reserved for this person's use in the event I am successful in changing their mind?"

Even though she hated the man with every bone in her body, she still appreciated his snakelike efforts at secrecy. "Everything is still as it was when this person left the organization," she replied cryptically.

"Good. I trust that you'll know how to apply the correct resources when the opportunity arises then. I'm sure we'll be talking again in the near future."

"Perhaps."

"Goodbye Sylia. And I do hope you feel better soon," he threw out non-chalantly as he disconnected the audio link.

The weary woman sunk back into her pillow and sighed heavily. She thought about her own ideas for trying to change Priss' mind given the revelations from Nene earlier in the day. Thinking of Nene caused the woman to sigh heavily again. "I don't know what's worse… being helpless like this right now… or knowing that Mason is my best chance to finally end this nightmare once and for all, after all he did to start it in the first place."

With a Herculean effort, Sylia rolled out of bed and prepared herself to go down to the pit. She had some major preparations to take if she was going to be ready for whatever Mason was planning. And if she still knew the Genom executive, whatever it was wouldn't be on the small side…

* * *

As her stomach finally began to settle down, Nene dragged herself upright from the white porcelain object she had barely reached in time. She sat on the floor, waiting for the bathroom to stop spinning, holding her thoughts in check… for the moment. When her eyes finally focused on the far wall, the young woman staggered to her feet and over to the sink. After washing up, she grabbed a towel and carefully made her way back to the computer… and back to the impossible revelations she couldn't believe she had discovered.

"I… I can't believe… Genom, or anyone, would do that!" the blond hacker stammered to herself. Sitting back down in her chair, she wiped the sweat from her forehead as she reviewed the words that had thrown all her beliefs to the wind. All the ideals Nene had of what she was doing and why were shaken apart, crumbling under the enormous weight of the true facts of the past… the earthquake, Genom, an artificial life form, a lab accident, Sylia's father's involvement… Going back over the facts nearly caused her stomach to flip again, but her own curiosity helped to settle her down. She knew so much now but one thing still bothered her…

Nene could understand given the magnitude of the situation why Sylia would want to hide the truth. Honestly if Nene had heard this from her just a few weeks ago, she figured she would have quit on the spot. Now though, she wasn't as concerned for herself as much as she was for Sylia's brother_. Why would Mackey hide this truth from me? Is it just to protect Sylia? _Doing the math, she found he was only an infant at the time of the lab incident. Nene decided Mackey's own resistance couldn't be from personal experience then, it must be from Sylia's pressuring influence… that influence she could understand very well.

Still the hacker had several questions that begged for answers, mostly about Sylia's own past and her involvement with her father's experiments. With a few expert commands and some swift motions of her hands, she was within reach of some of the information Nene wanted. She hesitated though. This particular file contained Sylia's family history according to the links she had found, but she recognized the file name from another search she had performed not too long ago. If she walked through this virtual door now, she would probably have many of the answers she wanted… _But at what price? _her heart asked.

Just over two weeks ago on the very accursed night of Linna's accident, she had been on the verge of opening this file. At the time, she wasn't as interested in Sylia's past as she was in another member of the Stingray family… Mackey. All Nene had to do was give the command and she would have access to those files, and possibly his secrets… whatever they may be. Even though her rational side said she was just looking for Sylia's background info, her heart knew what she was really about to do.

The teenager glanced at the time in the monitor, realizing with a depressed sigh that she had been blankly staring at the screen for over fifteen minutes now. Nene leaned back far into her chair, studying the subtle differences in the painted ceiling as her mind wrestled with her heart over what to do. _I love him, I can't break the promise… but I already did, I already asked him about his past… but he didn't answer me yet… doesn't that mean the promise is still intact… does he even still love me… isn't finding out what destroyed Tokyo more important though _The rational part of her brain came up with a million valid reasons why she shouldn't just go ahead and open the file… but her heart didn't care.

Finally with clenched teeth, she tried to will the words from her mouth, only to find her vocal cords wouldn't cooperate anymore. It was as if the two parts of her being were fighting for control over her body. Her hand shot out to the keyboard and typed in a few manual commands… before it stopped, just on the verge of opening the file. Both hands twitched in indecision as tears welled up in Nene's eyes. With a scream from pent up frustration, the young woman collapsed out of the chair and onto the floor next to the wires running out of the evil box of temptation. One violent jerk later, the unplugged power cord for the box lay lifelessly in her hand, the fans, circuitry, and lights from its core now dead and silent, leaving Nene's heart to breathe out it's quiet victory.

She curled up on the floor as she bore the full weight of what she was doing… and what she had to do next. If someone was able to unleash the destruction that had taken an earthquake to stop before… she couldn't fathom the dark possibilities. With Sylia unable to don a hardsuit at the moment, that left herself as the only remaining obstacle to whoever they were racing against. Her urge to run for the bathroom pushed up from the surface once again as her stomach began churning in earnest. She needed to talk to someone, anyone to help relieve the stress. She couldn't turn to Sylia for comfort… confronting her would only lead to a bigger fight at this point she reasoned. Mackey was simply out of the question, because if he knew how much she had already found out… she might as well have opened the file and found the rest of his secrets out.

One possibility popped into the teenagers head though, one person who would understand. She knew that this person would listen too, no matter what. Perhaps, if she was really lucky, this person could even lend a hand. With a lifting heart, Nene thought that if she told Linna what she had found out, the country girl she knew before would probably drag herself back to Tokyo on one leg just to help her out… The real question in Nene's mind was if the woman she knew before was still alive, or if that person had virtually died as a result of the accident.

Lifting up the power cord in her hand, the hacker began to reason with it. "Well, there's only one way to find out if she'll help, now isn't there?"

* * *

The desolate country road illuminated only by the lights of the car and the stars overhead appeared as empty as the conversation that hadn't just taken place at the restaurant. Neither Linna or Masaki had the freedom to discuss what was really on their minds since a local high school soccer team had invaded the establishment shortly after their arrival. However, even after leaving the Korean food behind, the hesitation that had been involuntarily introduced still lingered in the air between them as Masaki drove back towards Linna's house.

The driver was the first to attempt to break the ice. "That was rather strange. I would have thought a soccer team would prefer something a little less formal."

"Yeah, I guess so," was all Linna could manage, effectively hardening the frozen tundra between them. It wasn't that Linna was expecting a miracle with Masaki, or that she even expected them to be able to start where they had just a few days ago. But, he was so distant right now, especially at the restaurant where he hadn't said more than a few words to her the entire time. Equally as troublesome was the fact that the young man didn't make direct eye contact with her once while they were sitting together.

Silence returned to the inside of the car as the blond haired man continued to drive, trying to find an easy way to express what he needed to say. With a heavy sigh, he finally gave up the high road and decided to just get it out… before he ran out of highway in front of him. "I wanted to talk to you about something my father said to me after our date the other day."

Linna found herself gripping the side of the door as he continued.

"I know that I said your 'condition' didn't matter to me, and that I wouldn't judge you based on if you could bear your own children or not." He paused for a second to finish gathering himself for what he knew would hurt the woman more than nearly anything else… but he had to be honest with her. It was just the way he was. "However, my father has a differing opinion on the subject." Masaki was about to continue when the sound of cracking plastic cut off his train of thought. He glanced out of the corner of his left eye to notice the broken door handle held in the Linna's shaking hand. "Um… Linna?"

"So what does your father's _opinion_ matter anyway," the now fired up woman challenged.

"Look, I wanted to tell you in person… I didn't want to just send you a letter or talk to you over the phone. Even though I don't like to admit it, his opinion carries a great amount of weight with me."

"So is that the _real_ reason why you left Tokyo? Daddy snapped his fingers and you came running back?" she slapped out the accusations dripping with sarcasm.

"It's not like that at all! Can't you see that we couldn't be happy as long as my parents were chastising our relationship?"

Linna stewed in the seat for a moment in silence, digesting the garbage she felt was spewing out of the man's mouth next to her. "You're just using your parents for an excuse," she bitterly decided.

"I am not! Linna, I do…"

"Liar. That's all you are, just a lying bastard," she punctuated by half-heartedly tossing the handle in his direction, luckily missing badly.

Shaking off the errant missile, the blond man tried to counter. "Linna I meant…"

"You meant nothing! All you did was lie to me, to my mother, maybe even to yourself. If the fact that I can't bear children really didn't bother you, then you wouldn't care what your father thought of it."

"It's not that simple. I do care for you deeply, but…"

"But what! Nothing else should matter but how you feel!"

"Except that you never told me how you felt about Priss."

The sudden change in subject threw the young woman for a complete loop. "So that's what this is really about," she whispered to herself… but not quite soft enough to go unheard.

"Not really, but it does affect us now doesn't it?"

"I… I never expected her to show up… not after… I…" The flood of emotions that had overtaken Linna at the fountain began to flow back into her at that moment, clouding her mind and derailing any coherent thoughts she had.

Masaki continued in her now silent place. "And if things had gone further… if we were engaged… or what if we were at the altar… if Priss had walked through the door then, would you have dumped me like you did before? Can you honestly say it wouldn't have mattered?"

The questions pressed the woman's resolve. She hadn't the time to work through her feelings enough to tell how she felt about the past. The possibilities of future events were even less clear in her mind. "I… I don't know," she stumbled under her breath.

"Well, thanks for you honesty anyway," he added with a depressed sigh.

The car pulled up in front of the Yamazaki household as both participants paused for a moment, unsure how to end the discussion.

Another self-doubting thought came to the forefront of the man's mind as he thought of the parting occurring before his eyes. "Just one more question. When we kissed, did you think of me… or did you think of her?"

Linna's eyes flared as she stared into the dashboard, unable to look Masaki in the face to answer him. She knew the truth and couldn't find it within herself to lie even now, even when their future together was already written off.

Her silence was the answer Masaki feared he would receive. "I see. Well, I guess there's not much point in saying this since it's so obvious now, but I think we both need some time to ourselves now."

"Yes," she answered weakly. Linna reached for the handle to open the door, only to remember after scratching her hand on the fractured plastic piece that she had broken it off. She turned and glared at the dashboard with a red face, upset by the loss of control more than anything else.

Even though she hadn't explained the problem, Masaki still realized her predicament. Jumping out of his side of the car, he walked around to the passenger's side and wordlessly opened the door for the embarrassed Linna.

In turn the young woman climbed out of the vehicle and without acknowledging his assistance began walking to her door. Feeling slightly guilty she turned back to the man after he had closed the door. Linna spoke from the lingering anger in her heart instead of apologizing for anything that had just happened. "At least your father will be happy now," she said with a hint of bitter resignation in her voice.

The man took the attack in stride and prodded back with his own. "Well, at least you're free to go chase after Priss now."

"Not much chance of me catching her now even if I wanted to," she admitted.

"Well, if you ever do catch her, just give her a kiss like the one you gave me at the fountain. I know she'll never leave you again afterwards," Masaki added with regret laced inside his voice. With that, the young man stepped inside the car and carefully drove off.

Linna simply stood and watched the taillights dim into the distance, wondering at the possible truth of his words. As painful memories of the incident at the fountain replayed themselves in her mind, her heart gave up on that possibility. "There's no way we could ever be that close again, not that I'll even get a chance anyway," she told the trail of dust following his car. Slowly, she bowed her head and turned back to the house to fill her parents in on the end of yet another failed relationship. However, Linna picked her head up slightly at one happier thought. "Well, at least they'll understand this time…"

* * *

The lights dimmed on the stage as the band took the crowd over again. Less than 24 hours from one of the most incredible shows that As Sekiria had ever put on, they were back in the saddle again, ready to ride over the top of the gathered masses one more time.

Most in the crowd who had seen the show the previous night couldn't believe that Priss was up on stage again. Rumors on the street had her on the deathbed or in the hospital for a month at the least. The fact that she was on stage the next day just added to the growing legend of the underground band.

The house lights dimmed as the cords from an old favorite of Priss' started through the speakers. She dwelled on the song selection to open the set with a small smile written across her face. "Second Wind", originally done by Nanase Aikawa, was the perfect song for the occasion she decided. Nanase's albums were easy to come by on the streets that she had grown up on, and Priss had even patterned some of her vocal talents after the original queen of Japanese hard rock. Thus, this song had leapt out at her as the perfect opening for a brand new start for the band. With their stock on the rise after last nights miraculous performance, and after Priss had gotten two preliminary calls on music deals with big time labels earlier in the afternoon, it looked like things were finally going their way now.

The chords from the guitar blasted out through the crowd as the lead singer's music began to flow through the microphone and throughout Hot Legs. As the chorus thundered out into the street, the masses swelled inside, struggling to see the show. As she belted out the vocals, she made eye contact with different faces in front of her. One particular face held her gaze for more than a moment as the singer dwelled on his warm presence in her heart. He was at least partly responsible for it's own second wind, and that fact wasn't lost on the normally reclusive woman. Even as her mind effortlessly recalled the lines of the song she was performing, part of her drifted off to wander into the past. She tried once again to guess as to why she had been so open to his advances the previous evening. One spur of a thought was that perhaps everything that happened with Linna actually opened herself up to allow Leon into her life. _I'll have to thank her in my own special way for that… if I ever see that bitch again _she promised herself internally.

Shifting back to the present, Priss focused on the lyrics for a time until a lull in the song let the background noise from the crowd be heard on the stage. At that precise moment, a blood-curtailing scream from the back of the establishment pierced the air, drawing everyone's attention… including the band.

The music stopped as the rest of the crowd turned to see what the commotion was about, only to find the human masses in the back crushing themselves to get away from the source of the disturbance. Priss focused on the back of the club to see an inhuman site follow the fleeing masses from the entrance. A woman lifting up one of the bouncers with one arm strode directly into the center of the club… and promptly dropped his lifeless bloody body onto the floor with a sickening thud. Glowing red eyes looked directly into Priss' own horrified ones with a bloodthirsty glare. It's unmistakable mechanical voice bellowed out over the screams and shouts of the other patrons for everyone to hear… _"I heard you knocked them dead last night, so I decided to come by and check it out for myself. It's time to party!"_

Staring into the insane eyes of a boomer, Priss reneged on her promise in that moment. If at all possible, she would have sold her singing talent, or even her very soul, to the devil himself for just ten seconds in her hardsuit…

_To be continued…_


	18. Ch 18: Playing with Fire

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 18 – Playing with Fire

* * *

The young woman slumped down into her chair, staring at the keyboard in front of her.

"Nene, you're in awfully early tonight," one of the ADP dispatcher's co-workers commented as she walked past the mentally strung out woman.

"Yeah, just couldn't keep myself away from all this fun and excitement," she responded sarcastically.

"Well, just don't get caught napping from all this _'fun and excitement'_ as you call it. We didn't get a single call tonight."

"Sounds kind of like the calm before the storm," Nene added ominously.

As if on cue, alarms sounded within the open command center sending officers scattering in all directions as an announcement blared through the PA system_. "We have a report of a boomer incident in progress… all hands assume threat status 'Charlie'."_

"You just had to say something, didn't you Nene?" the other dispatcher chided as she ran back down the stairs to her post.

The blond woman began to frantically organize her workstation while defending herself at the same time. "It's not my fault!" she yelled into the back of her departing co-worker. Placing the headset over her ear, Nene logged into the network while starting the process of arranging resources in her head. As her mind turned over the possible courses of action by the responding ADP officers, she froze in place from a stark realization of what was really happening. "I'm the only one left…" she whispered to herself in distraught recognition.

Leaping out of her chair the teenager skipped every other step on the way out of the command center, mind full of the empty hardsuits sitting in the pit with no one left to wear them into combat. Reaching the top of the stairs Nene turned the corner towards the exit when she suddenly bounced off of a steel chest, falling backwards and landing hard on her backside.

"Your post is in the other direction Officer Romanova," the immovable object barked out at her.

The small woman's eyes elevated into the towering presence of the on-duty section commander boring through her body with his own twin lasers mounted in his jagged shape of a face. "B… But I'm not on duty yet…" she stammered.

"You're here now Romanova, so get back to your station and help the team out!"

"Yes sir," the dispatcher resigned, not seeing any easy way around the imposing presence before her. As she struggled to get to her feet, a single iron hand reached down to pull her up by one arm, nearly tearing it out of the socket in the process causing Nene to wince out a muffled groan from the unnatural strain.

The section commander wasn't apologetic in the least. "Quit your whining and hurry down there!"

"I'm going!" she shot back rudely, turning with her limp arm hanging by her side, gingerly rubbing the aggravated joint. "I wish he was out in the field right now… I'd like to send him against a boomer all by himself…" Nene grumbled under her breath.

Plopping back down in her chair, she flexed her injured arm out enough to determine it would be functional for typing, if not much else for a few days. Her thoughts turned in a darker direction, as she comprehended what her failure to get away from the station meant to the ADP in the field. They would be on their own… the Knight Sabers weren't going to bail them out this time.

Nene reattached the headphones to her head as she began to listen to the reports coming in. Her heart stopped with the first words that came from the accursed earpiece…

"Totem pole this is McNichols… the boomer is attacking civilians in the Hot Legs club… I'm on scene and engaging… out…"

Nene reconsidered trying to bolt past the section commander with the alarming news she had just heard ringing in her head. Leon was at the club, probably listening to Priss, and the only thing she thought that could save them sat immobile in the pit… its armored plating the same feared color the cleanup crew would find splattered on the club walls in a few short minutes.

* * *

Sylia's eyes were locked on the faceless visor, unable to pull herself away without thinking of what might still be. Everything was ready now, all systems checked out. She hadn't told Nigel exactly why she suddenly wanted his assistance with the blue hardsuit, and he had predictably not asked any questions about it. _What a strange relationship we have… built on a common ignorance and a dual lack of communication… _she laughed inwardly at herself.

The weary woman turned to exit the pit when the intercom system stopped her in her tracks. As Henderson's voice filled the space around her, she had a gut wrenching feeling that the moment of truth had finally arrived.

"The sensors have detected another reaction mylady…"

"Where is this one Henderson?"

"The system is still processing the location… wait… one moment… the boomer is in an entertainment district on the west side of the fault… at a club called Hot Legs. Isn't that where…"

"Thank you Henderson, that will be all," Sylia cut him off.

"Shouldn't I try and contact Miss Nene?"

"No, that won't be necessary Henderson. I think I have everything we need right here."

"Surely you're not planning on going out by yourself in your current condition."

"No. I'll have backup with me this time." _So this is what you had in mind Mason… _she thought to herself as she scurried over to the change room to don her own softsuit. _… the only problem with your plan is that an angry Priss may not even need a hardsuit to take out a boomer _And Sylia knew from experience just how pissed off Priss could be after being interrupted during a performance by a rogue boomer…

* * *

Stealing a momentary glance at his watch, Leon cursed aloud at his bad timing. "Damn! Another ten minutes and Daily would've been here." The tall man spied out over the top of the retreating crowd, hawk-like eyes stayed focused on the surreal scene in the center of the club as he waited for the flailing masses to push past him and towards the exits.

Standing over the lifeless hulking body of the bouncer, the female form of the boomer was locked in a stare down with the lead singer as she stood frozen in place on the stage, mic still in hand. Suddenly, the glowing red eyes shifted their attention below the stage at a cowering fan, vainly trying to blend in with the tiled floor. The boomer took one step towards the stage sending the terrified girl scurrying to the exit. The motion only served to further attract the death machine's advance. With blinding speed, the boomer cut off her escape path, grabbed a hold of her hair and hauled the girl up in the air with one arm, her feet dangling inches above the ground. Before she could even scream out, a bloody V-shaped protrusion ripped through the back of her chest. The girl's arms struggled briefly to pull herself off of the cold metal appendage doubling as one of the boomer's arms. A moment later, the girl's own pale arms fell still, life finally leaving her punctured body.

Letting go of the corpse's head, the boomer let the body dangle from its arm as it's emotionless eyes retrained their focus on the disbelieving woman still frozen to the stage. Without breaking eye-contact, the boomer lowered the arm and allowed the lifeless female form to sickeningly slide off, its retreating hand drawing forth a grotesque sucking sound, body collapsing back to the floor in a bloody heap.

"NO!" a masculine voice screamed out above the diminishing crowd noise. The boomer turned its attention to the source of the disturbance with no facial expression whatsoever.

A teenage boy broke away from the rest of the retreating masses and charged the killing machine armed only with a piece of wood, crying vengeance with each step. As he reached the target the calculating beast slapped down hard on his chest with the back of its crimson tainted hand before he could even swing the crude weapon in its direction. With the wind knocked out of him, the boy heaved up ragged breaths attempting to recover. The boomer raised its other arm into the air, forming another V with its hand to strike down through the prone human below.

"Wait!"

To his utter shock, the boomer responded to Leon's demand, slowly lowering its arm and turning towards him, ignoring the cowering person below it.

"Well, I didn't think that would actually work," he nervously joked to himself, wishing his partner was with him. Lifting his revolver up towards the red-eyed target, he noted in the back of his mind that this one looked different_. It doesn't even look rogue… almost like… _His train of thought was cut off by an announcement from the hostile entity before him.

"Primary target acquired."

"What the Hell…" All that Leon saw next was a blur of motion before him. One moment, the barrel of the gun was trained directly into the boomer's chest… the next, the firearm had already discharged into the ceiling, his hands knocked skyward by the boomer's nearly invisible attack. Not that he was concerned about the direction of the gunshot at the moment… Leon found breathing impossible since one of the metal fists from the boomer was impaled into his stomach far enough to nearly crush his diaphragm, the upper part of his body doubling over from the vicious blow. Blackness filled his vision as the big man felt consciousness slipping away.

As it sensed its target's legs slack, the boomer slowly retracted the fist allowing him to crumple to the ground. A trickle of blood lingering on the hand followed its arm as the machine walked around the unmoving form on the ground to face the human still standing on stage, silently gloating in its mission that took less than one minute to accomplish.

Just one minute… one minute ago she had been singing a victory song of sorts… a song symbolizing her rise over all obstacles before her and before the band. Now, the roaring crowds were scattered into the streets, hysterically running for their lives. The rest of the band was running the opposite direction backstage, fleeing the demon preying on its helpless victims in the center of the club. Two dead bodies lay in growing puddles of blood on the floor, a third would-be victim crawling away… spared by the efforts of a lone law enforcement officer. He wasn't just an ordinary officer to Priss however… he was another symbol for her, a symbol of healing for her broken heart, a life preserver of sorts that she had latched onto in order to pull herself out of the swirling vortex her battered soul had fallen into.

Now that lifeline appeared to be cut in two at the hands of a rogue boomer, glowing red eyes boring back into her own again… calling her, mocking her, taunting her… _Why? Why? _

Something snapped inside of the former Knight Saber, a rage bottled up by the accident, billowed up from the depths of locked away corners of her being. Her body acted on its own, dropping the mic and lifting the stand like a club, leaping off the stage and charging the waiting antagonist, still hovering over its fallen prey. A battle cry echoed throughout the enclosed space as Priss rapidly narrowed the gap between herself and the boomer, even as it stood its ground in the face of her attack. She swung the mic stand with a berserker-like ferocity directly at its stone cold face.

Faster than her eyes could follow, the boomer's hand appeared just beside its head, stopping the iron base just centimeters from the woman's target. With an equally swift flick of its wrist, Priss found herself flying through the air along with the stand, crashing to the ground hard on her side, sliding along the tiled floor and slamming into a wall, the breath temporarily knocked out of her. The rage still boiled within her soul however, willing her injured body upright once more. She picked up the stand once more and steadied herself above wobbly legs, preparing for another attack.

Before she could begin the next charge, the boomer faced her once more and lifted up the limp body of the ADP officer by the neck… readying the other in a horrifyingly familiar stance that caused Priss to involuntarily shudder. A terrifying premonition of what was about to happen spurred the young woman into action, leaping at the boomer with a two handed assault… that was abruptly cut short by a white blur in front of her.

Leon's unconscious body dropped heavily back to the floor with part of the boomer's severed arm still attached. Beside him stood a Knight in shining white armor, blade drawn and poised to strike again.

The machine's advanced programming struggled to adapt to the sudden shift in the battle's momentum, taking a couple of retreating steps back from the new entry into the fray.

_Sylia… _Priss mentally thought out, being reflexively cautious with her words in her current battle mode. The faceless helmet turned slightly in her direction and nodded upward, a sign that took Priss by surprise for a moment before realizing what the Knight Sabers' leader intended. _She always comes prepared, doesn't she… _The singer had another concern first however… "Try to get that thing away from him," she yelled out, pointing down at Leon's prone form.

With another nod the White Saber sprang on the waiting boomer, its programming now prepared for the challenge after the momentary reprieve given it by the two women. The two female forms locked together in a dance of death, blade slashing through air previously occupied by the shifty boomer.

As they parried each other's blows, Priss took the opening given to run to Leon's side. "Hold on! Please hold on," she pleaded to his unresponsive body. Checking his condition, Priss was genuinely surprised to find no gaping hole in his midsection. In fact, the only external injury she could find was a couple of small skin-deep scratches. Dislodging the remnants of the boomer's arm from his neck, Priss then attempted to lift the heavy ADP officer… only to find that task impossible. Rolling him onto his back, she dragged him as far as she could manage, stopping at the foot of the short set of stairs leading to the backstage area. With the fighting momentarily taking place on the other side of the club, the concerned woman checked his condition again. She quickly found him both breathing and having a pulse, which put her at ease slightly… until the White Saber slammed into a wall not too far away from where they were hiding. Priss watched as the boomer tried to follow up with a kick, only to narrowly miss the now wobbly Sylia. The former Knight Saber took one more look into Leon's still unconscious form and quickly made her decision. Temporarily abandoning him, she ran through the door to the backstage area and to a stairwell leading to the roof, recalling the promise she had mentally broken just a few minutes ago. However, instead of selling her soul to the devil himself, she felt as if she was giving in to the devilish mind of Sylia… all for the sake of one Leon McNichol…

* * *

"Excellent! Excellent! Everything is proceeding as planned, wouldn't you agree Mr. Bikatsu?" the pale skinned man asked a very dead body lying unnaturally at a control console. From within the small command van parked not too far away from the festivities, Mason safely monitored the status of his test platform… an assassin boomer being secretly developed by a carefully hidden Genom research facility. The late Mr. Bikatsu had been kind enough to assist the crazed executive in his unholy plan, and perhaps with a touch of blackmail added for incentive. Fortunately for Mason, the scientist was capable of starting his operation without any further assistance, making the 'cleanup' afterwards that much easier. Mason couldn't help but crack an evil grin at the dark beauty of his plan.

This project was the brainchild of one of his closer competitors within Genom's upper circle and had already suffered some serious setbacks. Now, with the apparent failure of its latest model going rouge and attacking a popular singer in the underground club circuit, the whole project stood to be torn down, permanently discrediting his rival… while at the same time prodding the Knight Sabers into completing his own dirty work for him. It was still possible for Mason to try to accomplish the exhaustive search using his own resources. However given Quincy's tireless attention to his efforts, Mason realized those resources were better kept in check until the last crucial minute… when Tokyo would once and for all suffer his insane wrath.

A green flash jolted Mason from his self-induced power trip, luminescent glow overpowering the dim red light inside the van. A ghostly voice wisped from the electrical circuitry all around the stunned executive, projecting one word into his consciousness… _"play… play… play…"_

Mason's grin impossibly doubled in length as the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, madness wiping away the remaining vestiges of sanity still left in his corrupted mind. _"It's starting… starting now… I must find her…"_ he rambled as part of his own body began emanating a slightly greenish tint as well…

* * *

Groggily, Sylia hauled herself upright just in time to avoid a slicing kick from the boomer who proceeded to crash through the wall. She turned towards the opening to find the mechanical beast emerging from the new opening in the structure, one arm poised to strike unmercifully at her again. Before it could follow up the attack, its eyes flashed a bright green color before giving way to a deeper, burning crimson tint. That wasn't the only transformation the lab creation endured, but it was the only one Sylia was immediately aware of.

Just as the boomer's eyes flashed, a piercing scream blasted from the inside of Sylia's eardrums. Her eyes crossed causing the Knight Saber's vision to blur from the intense pain. Reflexively, her armored hands once again vainly tried to block out the internal assault on her mind. The White Saber crumpled to the floor, balled up, lying on her side in a near fetal position. The sonic scream finally faded but the pain remained, rendering her helpless as all conscious thoughts were scattered from her mind.

The newly mutating boomer's programming disintegrated under the weight of outside influences, animalistic instincts taking over, driving changes to its rapidly deteriorating shape. Sharp claws grew from the remaining stub of an arm, tentacles exploded from the other. Through bloodthirsty eyes, it viewed the shaking armored target curled up on the ground below. With little effort, the beast's new appendages encircled the human shape and flung it across the open space, crashing against a support beam near the far wall. It slumped back to the ground motionless.

The creature scanned the immediate area for another potential victim, quickly locating one it barely recognized as a former target. It approached the equally prone but still breathing body lying on the ground next to some stairs. The exterior shell around its claw bubbled in anticipation of a killing blow, lifting up towards the ceiling in a planned strike. The razor sharp fingers sliced down towards the soft flesh of the unconscious human, aiming for the center of his chest. The knife-like objects never made it there.

The door at the top of the stairs exploded divulging a blue armored shape that blasted into the attacking monster; catching the arm just short of the target and knocking it's metallic body backwards. The insane creature howled in denial as its hungry rage went unfed for the moment. The boomer's hulking mass echoed a loud clang throughout the empty club as it fell unceremoniously to the floor several meters away. Burning red eyes looked into the faceless features of a blue hardsuit, battle poised and ready to strike again. With another bestial howl, the boomer righted itself and charged with its growing bulk.

The Blue Saber answered the call with her own charge, swiftly dodging the boomer's first slow strike with a quick hammering blow from her knucklebomb. Metal chunks flew off of the boomer's shoulder causing the beast to cover up the damaged section of its exterior from further harm. The Knight Saber took advantage of the wounded monster by adding two crushing kicks to the now exposed opposite side.

The boomer crashed hard to the ground from the expert blows. But not giving up just yet, it lashed out with tentacles once again. The Blue Saber flipped away from the desperate strike and landed just behind the suffering beast. With practiced precision, she drew back her right arm and thrust down into the boomer's back, penetrating the tough outer shell with augmented power from the hardsuit. Her metal covered fingers found their mark, wrapping around the pulsing core of the boomer. With a single thought, her hand began to constrict around the corrupting force breathing life into the monstrosity.

Priss watched the back of the boomer with wide-open eyes through her visor, recalling the lesson learned from the accident with vivid detail. A pulsing green flash inside her helmet instantly blinded her. Rapidly blinking her eyelids, Priss found herself disoriented for a moment before another sense of panic flooded her soul… an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia crept throughout her body from the stark recognition that she couldn't move a muscle. Her hardsuit was locked in place; arm still buried within the motionless boomer's body, fingers still entwined with its pulsing core. Another disturbing sensation crawled across her being from within the seemingly lifeless boomer. Starting with her penetrating arm, Priss felt as if her armor began to flow over her skin, a soft melding of metal with flesh trying to pry her sanity away. As she desperately tried to focus her mind to regain control, an invisible hand raped her consciousness, ripping her mind from its central balancing point, cramming her soul within a small sphere of constraining fear. She tried to scream but found no voice… she tried to move but found her body paralyzed… she tried to think but her thoughts were dissipating into the fear rapidly consuming her mind. That fear accomplished the one feat that nothing else in the world could lay claim to… it caused the fighter inside the being that was Priss Asagiri to cower as it had never done her entire life…

* * *

Daily Wong burst through the front entrance of the club, slamming his back hard against the wall, his breathing coming with rapid bursts of adrenaline. Since hearing his partner's voice over the radio, everything else had become a blur. He had to get to his partner as soon as possible. Shotgun drawn, he momentarily listened to the eerie silence smothering the normally rambunctious club. The ADP officer peeked from around the corner down into the tiled floor of the club. Two bodies lay in the floor, their death evidenced by the pools of blood that they floated within.

Not spying any sign of Leon or the boomer, Daily advanced down the stairs to the lower level of the small arena. A familiar silver shape caught his eye directly ahead. He instantly recognized the armored form of the White Knight Saber, lying motionless next to a support beam that she had obviously impacted by the deep rut gouged out of it. A sense of dread followed every step he took towards the unmoving vigilante. _Is she dead? If she didn't make it, then Leon… _

Daily never finished that thought as a faint green glow from the far side of the club emerged from the other side of the stage area. He instantly recognized both the stationary boomer and the Blue Saber attached to its back. Both were frozen together, encased in the greenish glow barely visible to the naked eye even in the darkened building. Cautiously approaching their joined mass with shotgun drawn, he noted that the Saber's arm appeared to be buried deep inside the seemingly lifeless beast. Before he could investigate further, a groan in a familiar voice caught his ear. Just behind the boomer he saw the rustling body of Leon, just beginning to roll over. Running around the still unmoving twin armored bodies, Daily reached his partners side. "Leon, what happened? Are you alright?"

"Wha… Where am I? Did I get the boomer?"

Daily chuckled at Leon's disoriented mental state. "No, but I think your girlfriend there did?" he punctuated by pointing over his shoulder at the still motionless boomer behind him.

"What girlfriend?"

"None other than the Blue Knight Saber… although I don't know if she's still alive or not seeing as how neither she or the white one are moving anymore."

That statement drew the sore ADP officer quickly off the floor, snapping up to a sitting position… with his abused stomach protesting instantly. "Oww, Damnit!" he complained, covering up his midsection.

"Hey, take it easy."

"What do you mean not moving!" Leon shouted out, not believing the words without visual evidence. He looked up into the glowing red eyes of the boomer, still burning bright even though it wasn't budging a centimeter. "Where's Priss? Where is she?"

"Who? Priss? I haven't seen her," Daily admitted.

Leon was about to ask again when a scream burst the air around them, snapping their attention towards the previously motionless boomer.

* * *

The entire universe surrounding Priss simply disintegrated, her body seemingly floating through nothingness. Priss blinked and then found herself drowning in a thick, soupy liquid of green madness. She could sense her mental functions being picked apart by millions of invisible fingers, shredding into her brain. The flailing woman struggled to hang on to anything resembling reality as she sank into the depths of impossibility. With parts of her mind drifting away, a raft of emotional strength floated by. The Knight Saber still within her heart lunged out for it, the fighter finally awakening once more. While attempting to pull her fragmented mind together, the invading hand gripped tighter around her soul, dragging the singer back down into the suffocating green substance below.

Priss clawed for the surface, fighting with every ounce of purpose she could muster. Familiar images from her memory flew past the space above her, calling out her name, trying to help pull her back from the brink. Finally one blurry image stopped directly before the dying woman. It reached out with one hand, lending support to her frail mental state. Priss latched on with both arms and through that shared link, hauled herself out of the green ocean below. She looked into the face of the image… then screamed out the fury of hell itself… Waves of hatred rippled outward from her, vaporizing the penetrating invaders, freeing her mind from the virtual chains holding her back. Priss' body finally responded to her will, her hand smashing closed through the gushing remains of the boomer's core.

Both men looked up at the boomer, who's eyes flickered out, its massive frame fell forward crashing to the floor… revealing a trembling armored Knight, orange ooze dripping from her extended right fist.

"Priss…"

Daily turned at Leon with a surprised expression. It became even more so by the Blue Saber's next reaction.

Still shaking through her armor, the vigilante's hands bent over and gripped her helmet as if to tear it off of her head. _Wha… what the hell… just happened? _she stammered internally while struggling with her mental bearings, ignoring the external factors for the moment. After a few seconds, the faceless visor lifted up to the sight of Daily and Leon.

"Priss, are you OK?" Leon asked with a certainty that his partner couldn't ignore.

The Blue Saber simply stared at Leon, unable to comprehend what he was saying and why since she was still recovering from the mental assault she had just barely survived.

When the armored form didn't answer, Daily interjected. "Listen loverboy, I think you must've taken a pretty sharp blow to the head."

Before Leon could even think about an answer, the blue helmet turned sideways as if someone else had spoken to her. Suddenly, she turned on one metal heel and ran towards the White Saber.

Both ADP officers watched as she scooped up the rousing White Knight and fled out a side door.

"…And off into the night again, I see," Daily remarked as he inspected the remains of the bloody battle in the club.

Leon tried to stand only to fall back to the ground, moaning while holding his midsection.

"Hold on their tough guy," Daily stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get you checked out before you try any more excursions tonight."

"Not exactly the way I wanted to get a day off," the big man added with a painful smirk. "By the way, what took you so long?"

Looking at his watch Daily laughed as he replied. "Actually I'm a couple of minutes early. You're the one who started the party without me."

"Wasn't my choice," Leon threw out somberly, recalling the boomer's words it had said when turning towards him… _"Primary target acquired"_ _Why was I the target? Could it be because of Priss… because of the Knight Sabers… _

Leon continued to ponder the disturbing facts as he leaned on Daily out of the club and into an arriving ambulance a few minutes later, riding off towards Kanto Memorial to spend the night in a lone bed he'd rather be sharing with someone else…

* * *

Shakily landing on another roof a few buildings away, the Blue Saber dropped the clothes she had retrieved from the top of the building above Hot Legs. With another shrug, the limp armored form of Sylia landed with a thud next to her unsteady legs.

Luckily for Priss, Sylia wasn't aware enough to care about her rough treatment just yet. Her vision began to clear after a few moments, her mental functions gradually returning to normal. Lying on her side, she recognized the surface as a rooftop. With a sharp metallic clang, a familiar blue object bounced hard against the rooftop, rolling to a stop within her limited line of sight a few meters away. The staggering form of the Blue Saber appeared in that line of sight a few seconds later, as Sylia began the slow process of trying to right herself. "Pr… Priss, what's wrong?" the Knight Sabers leader called out to her.

Instead of answering her, Priss stopped just above her helmet, then over-exaggeratedly raised her right fist as if to crush the round object at her feet.

"Priss! Wait! What the Hell are you doing?" Sylia screamed out, finally getting to her feet and grabbing a hold of the hesitating Saber's right arm. She spun the startled Blue Knight around and found the unfamiliar face of a crazed woman staring back at her. "What… What happened to you?"

"I… It… alive… then… I couldn't… but, she… she…" When the singer's babbling finally stopped, the terror expressing itself from deep within Priss' soul made itself painfully aware to the Knight Saber's leader. That terror frightened even Sylia herself. The nearly insane warrior abruptly tore away from the white armored figure and practically jumped out of her hardsuit, stumbling out and onto the roof. She curled up on the ground, the tarred rocky texture cutting into her bare skin. She shivered on the hot surface, arms wrapping around her body, gripping herself with quaking hands.

Sylia simply stood in shock. At least with Linna's accident, she could understand Priss' reactions. This made no sense at all to her. "Priss, were you able to stop the boomer?"

The shaking woman's eyes blinked a couple of times in recognition, then she briefly nodded, struggling to maintain her grip on sanity. Her breathing came only in rapid bursts, eyes remaining unfocused, glassy.

"Then what happened to you?" Only Priss' whimpering breaths answered her question. Sylia leaned down to the stricken singer, now dressed only in her underwear from having to squeeze into the constraining hardsuit. She placed one armored hand on her shoulder only to have Priss jerk away at the touch, almost cowering from her hardsuited presence.

The still recovering Knight Saber's leader struggled with the clues. A flicker of inspiration dawned on her as she looked at the cracked open blue hardsuit. Gingerly climbing out of her own hardsuit, she carefully approached Priss. "It's OK. It's going to be OK now," she attempted to reassure the fallen Knight once more. Sylia gently held on to Priss' arm, first allowing time for her to become acclimated to her touch, then slowly lifted up on the arm. To her relief, the distraught woman didn't pull away from the feel of her flesh. She knelt on the ground next to Priss and patently coaxed her upright. Looking into the distant horrified expression on the warrior's face brought a sense of personal guilt to the forefront of Sylia's own mind.

She didn't know exactly how, but she felt responsible for whatever had happened to the singer… especially considering her prior knowledge of the staged attack, and Mason's direct involvement. _Could Mason have done this to her? _Thoughts of betrayal crossed Sylia's mind before being brought back to the present by Priss' body beginning to fold over again, her vocal responses more closely resembling a frightened child than anything else she could compare. Without hesitation, Sylia wrapped her own arms around the singer's shuddering body and held on tightly, lifting one hand to softly stroke the back of her matted hair. With a confident voice, Sylia tried to fill her mind with strong, calming thoughts, desperately reaching out through the madness visible in her eyes and into her darkened soul… in a way replaying the supporting stance that Priss had given Linna immediately after the accident.

She held her like that for several minutes until Priss finally began to respond, the singer's arms shifting around Sylia's softsuit, clutching onto the back of the skin-tight fabric like a life-preserver. The light haired woman continued to hold on to Priss until the shivering stopped, her breathing steadied out, eyes becoming focused once more.

"I'm glad you're back," Sylia whispered into her ear, genuine gratitude shining through her voice. The words had a distinct effect on the singer… just not the effect Sylia expected.

Priss pulled away from the embrace, face slightly flushed from the proximity and her lack of clothing. _"… back?…," _she mimicked. It wasn't the compromising situation that stirred her into action however, it was the implied meaning of Sylia's words. Priss turned her head towards the two empty hardsuits and shuddered again. "No! I… I can't…" She ran over to gather up the clothes she had dropped onto the roof and quickly began dressing.

Sylia's worried expression returned to her face as she walked over to the scrambling woman. "Priss, please talk to me. What happened when you put on the hardsuit?" Sylia thought back to her own experience and recalled a specific event that triggered her own demise. "Did you see a green flashing light at all?"

Those words froze Priss in place, dropping the pants she had just picked up as memories began to flood back into her mind. "Y… yes."

"What happened after that?" Sylia pried, trying to keep the line of communication between them open.

"I… I had just hit the core… but… I couldn't crush it… I couldn't… the hardsuit… it wouldn't… then it…" Priss lost it once again, the madness tearing the coherent thoughts of her brain apart from the inside out.

Sylia saw the endless despair reappear in her eyes and immediately gathered Priss up in a reassuring hug. "Your hardsuit froze?"

Priss didn't resist her forward approach, instead focusing internally as she tried to maintain the delicate balance inside her mind. "Y… yeah."

"How did you kill the boomer then?"

She tried to hold back the sensations that had nearly destroyed her being, but the more Sylia questioned, the harder it became. "I… it… it was her," she answered, skipping to the image that had saved her life. At that thought, an elixir of anger washed over her mind, calming her nerves and re-centering her soul.

The Knight Saber's leader recognized the change and loosened her hold on the reclusive woman. "Who?"

Priss pulled out of Sylia's arms and quietly finished dressing, purposely not answering the question. Once dressed she looked one last time at the blue hardsuit, then turned to Sylia with purpose back in her voice. "I can't put that thing back on again."

"Why? Why not? Priss, I need you now… more than ever…"

"I'm sorry Sylia."

The older woman was struck by the sincerity of the apology. All the anger of the past seemed to be just water under the bridge now.

Priss continued to try and explain. "I… I just can't separate her memory from the hardsuit."

"Linna?" Sylia guessed.

"Yeah," Priss confirmed with a hint of bitterness that the other woman mistook for regret, not the specter of hatred that she represented to the now leather-clad woman.

"Priss, she's probably not coming back to the Knight Sabers… ever."

"I know. But that doesn't change the fact that the hardsuit only dredges up those memories. Goodbye Sylia, and thanks for bailing me out tonight." Priss walked off towards a stairwell as Sylia called out to her back.

"Thanks for pulling me out of there yourself. Please though, I really could use your help now."

Priss stopped for a moment and turned her head back towards the woman in the softsuit. "You still have Nene, don't you?"

"After tonight, I don't know. We've got our own issues we're working through, but I can use all the help I can get right now."

Priss bowed her head in thought, then slowly walked to the door and down the stairwell, without replying to her last request. Sylia had a good feeling about her lack of response… _In the end, at least she didn't say no… _

_…help… she needs my help… Why would I care if she needs my help? _Struggling down the stairwell of the unfamiliar building, Priss still fought with her control, trying to wall out the anarchy that had set up camp in a corner of her mind. After a couple more flights, she paused, gripping the railing hard enough to hurt her own hand, her breathing becoming more rapid, shallow. _I can't go back… can't go back there… _she argued with herself, trying to maintain the separation between her body and the hardsuit.

The walls became fuzzy as they began to spin around her. The singer's legs lost their strength once more, causing her to grab the handrail with her other hand. Priss battled with her mental focus, summoning the fortifying images of the people closest to her. One image in particular was effective in balancing her once again, the chaos within her soul beaten back with the help of the emotions tied to this person. With a deep scowl, Priss continued down the stairs as the black hate built back up within her heart. She allowed the thoughts of this person's betrayal wash over her being, cleansing the recent ordeal from the front of her mind.

However, the hate began to corrupt her mind… her thoughts now filled with evil plans of revenge. Her balance lost again, the singer decided to keep it that way, to stay as far away from the madness as possible. So she let those images feed into her anger, budding more hatred and malcontent the more they lingered. Finally reaching the lobby of the apartment building she had landed upon, Priss exited into the streets and turned back towards the club, hoping to find Leon still there. But even as she thought of Leon… the one who hadn't pulled her from the green ocean of insanity… her consciousness turned back to the hated person who had… and the face of Linna Yamazaki boiled the burning rage within her heart once more.

* * *

The morning sunlight reflected off the hand-mopped tiling of the country kitchen floor, illuminating the inside of the house with natural brightness that almost masked the dark discussion taking place around the breakfast table.

"That's crazy Linna," Hirata fired out. "That's something the government or the military should handle, not a bunch of female vigilantes."

"Dad, the government is owned by Genom! If Nene's right about their link into this, they'll be no help whatsoever. As far as the military, we've already had to save their butts before, I don't think I want to trust their help this time either."

"But Linna, this is different. If what your friend says is true…" he persisted worriedly.

"I know," she answered with a sliver of dread hidden in her voice. "But I can't just leave her all alone. If Sylia can't help…"

"Can't she find someone else there in Tokyo?" Misa now piled on as well.

"It's not that easy mom. It took me a few weeks just to get the hang of it. They can't just pull anyone off the street, assuming they could even make a hardsuit fast enough anyway," Linna protested.

Her father still wasn't convinced. "But look what happened to you even after you_ 'got the hang of it'_. On top of that, you're not even fully healed yet."

"He's right Linna. How do you know you won't become a hindrance to Nene out there?"

"Mom, Dad, please listen. I know how dangerous this will be, and I know I'm not one hundred percent right now. But I've fought through pain worse than this before, and this battle is just too important to sit back and hope for the best."

"There's a difference between running a track meet with a knee injury and fighting a boomer in a hardsuit," her father persisted. He looked as if he wanted to continue, but just sagged his shoulders instead and let out a deep sigh. "But, I can't rule your life forever. Besides, I can't argue over the importance of stopping this thing from being released again. I just wish I could go with you and help…"

Those were the most important words Linna had ever heard her father speak. A lone tear fell from her face as she reached over and held one of his hands. "Thank you."

Hirata looked up into his daughter's misty eyes and nearly started crying himself. "Just promise me you'll come back in one piece this time," he added half-jokingly.

"I'll try. I promise."

"And what will you do if Priss shows up?" Misa interjected, everything not fully set in her mind.

A deep frown covered Linna's face at the question she had first thought of herself when she had read the troubling E-mail rant from the Red Knight Saber. "I don't think she will mom. Nene said Priss had quit the team and had no sign of her coming back. Besides, she's not exactly the noble type to take on something like this just because it's the right thing to do."

"Are you sure?" her mother persisted.

Linna thought for a moment before answering. "Yes. Yes, I am. Priss would never put on a hardsuit for someone else. She only acts for herself," she threw out the last part unable to hide the bitterness within her own soul. But even as she spoke the words, her heart argued the point, bringing up the fact that Priss had come all the way out to the country just to see her. _Look what happened as a result… _she chided her own heart. Linna looked up into the concerned faces of her parents and realized they had been watching her internal conflict in silence for nearly a minute, spurning an urge to answer for her own personal torments. "Besides, if she knew I was coming back, she wouldn't get within a hundred kilometers of the hardsuits anyway…"

_To be continued…_


	19. Ch 19: Priorities

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 19 – Priorities

* * *

Leon looked up into the eyes of the woman he had missed all night long, thought of constantly, couldn't get out of his head, and frankly never wanted to. Finding her just standing at the door of his hospital room, he could immediately tell that something wasn't quite right. "Hey there…" he began optimistically, trying to draw her open "…thanks for leaving me a message last night. I was really worried about you." 

"No problem," she answered simply.

_That's it? "No problem"? _A bewildered expression crossed his face for a moment, before he shifted gears onto a different tact. "Any chance you rescued my bike before the rest of the ADP showed up and blew the place to hell?"

"Yeah, I've got it," she answered rather weakly, still standing next to the door, remaining distant.

Leon recognized her stubborn reluctance, and stubbornly decided to pry her out of it. "Come here for a second."

Hesitating for just a moment, the singer slowly drifted to his side. Up close, he could tell she hadn't slept very well, if at all. "It looks like you need this bed more than I do right now."

Priss stared blankly at him, making Leon wonder if she wasn't out on her feet. He slid over in the smallish bed and patted the little bit of empty space next to him. "There's room here if you want to rest for a moment."

A brief look of protest crossed the woman's face before Leon's pleading eyes drew her down to the bed with him. She naturally curled into his form, laying her head gently on his chest.

As soon as they came in contact, Leon could feel the tension pulsing throughout her whole body. Still only guessing at the exact reasons, he decided to work on calming her for now. Softly stroking her hair, he spoke reassuringly to her. "I'm glad you're OK."

"Thanks." Priss could feel her muscles begin to relax with the rhythm of Leon's heartbeat close to her ear. "How are you doing?" she finally asked, a hint of emotion returning in her voice.

"A couple of fractured ribs, one hell of a headache, but other than that never better," he added with a smirk. As he talked, the woman lying next to him continued her slow, calming trend. She seemed to be content to just listen to him since she didn't attempt to break the silence after his comments. _Might as well keep going since it's helping… _"The doctors say they'll release me this afternoon if everything looks good. They just wanted to make sure I didn't have any internal bleeding they might have missed. Kind of makes you wonder how good the doctors are when they go back and check their own work, huh?"

Priss didn't respond, but Leon could still see her glassy eyes opened, staring across his chest at the plain curtains drawn closed on the far wall.

The big man's own thoughts turned inward for a moment, causing him to let out a brief chuckle at one particularly painful thought. "Y'know, I'm glad the boomer got me in the stomach. I'd hate to think what my sex life would have been like if it had hit me any lower."

A flash of color appeared on the woman's cheeks as she perked her head up to look into his face for just a brief second. "Leon, just shut up," Priss ordered, turning her head back towards the wall and promptly dropping it on his very tender ribs.

Outside of a single but very pained grunt, Leon did as he was told. He still smiled outwardly at his ability to get a rise out of Priss. At least it let him know she would be OK, even if something were still bothering her for some reason… boomer related or otherwise.

Within a couple of silence filled minutes, Priss' breathing slowed considerably, body falling completely lax. Leon gazed down into her face, eyes closed, nostrils flaring regularly every few seconds. He let her slow, regular breaths help heal his own hurts, aiding in his own recovery.

* * *

A field of total blackness greeted Priss as she stood up from where she had been resting. Somehow the blackness, the emptiness comforted her soul. She began walking forward, exploring the surrounding darkness, unconcerned with what her eyes couldn't see. _Why? Why does… it feels like… this is home… _Taking solace in the protecting sheath all around her, the thoughts within her consciousness drifted into the unknown. Her eyes blinked, and suddenly she was floating in the black space around her. Still, it didn't unnerve her in the least… until the first flickers disrupted the uniform plainness. 

A flash registering through her pupils snapped Priss' attention behind her. Spinning herself around, she faced a growing dot of approaching light. A wave of anxiety surfaced from the recesses of her subconscious, the light resolving itself into a single color… the dreaded, solid color… _green_.

She blinked again… and tried to scream, but couldn't. The emptiness was filled, flooded with the shimmering crests of green drowning out her words. She tried to move but couldn't. Any coherent thoughts scattered as the madness infected her once again.

…_Priss…_

The distant words collected in her heart and sprang forth a ray of hope. The voice sounded as if it was above her, but she couldn't turn to look.

…_Priss…_

The words grew closer, strengthening her resolve… until a giant liquid hand materialized directly in her locked vision. Unable to shift her eyes, she was forced to watch as the fingers curled into a "C" shape, aiming squarely towards her vulnerability. With a sickening burst, the hand shot at her chest, gripping around her frozen torso, crushing the life from her lungs…

…_Priss!…_

"GAAH!… NO!" Finally finding her voice, Priss' eyes tore open, the green slowly dissolving from her vision to reveal Leon's hospital room. Her upper body now sat upright in his bed barely supported by two quaking arms. The singer's head jerked around to find herself still next to the ADP officer who was now decorated in a hospital serving tray complete with all the major food groups dripping from his hospital gown. "Wha… the… the green… Where… Leon, what… Oh God… oh god… please… god…" Priss collapsed back into the bed, her sputtering words becoming intelligible. Nearly ripping Leon's gown off, her spastic hands frantically gripped onto him, desperately clinging onto the reality now surrounding her.

Leon's momentary burst of anger from having his not-so-appetizing lunch served on his hospital wardrobe quickly evaporated under the emotional shock of the terror deep within Priss' voice. Her entire body shook with a ferocity that frankly scared the hell out of him_. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear she just got pulled out of an ice bath… _"Priss… Priss, are you OK?"

The unresponsive singer's eyes remained wide-eyed and unfocused, her shallow breathing coming in rapid-fire bursts.

The ADP officer swiftly deposited the emptied tray onto the floor and wiped off a good portion of the food off of his face and clothes with a nearby hand towel. Pulling up one of the blankets of the bed, he gently wrapped Priss up with him to try and comfortably warm her from the nightmare that had shattered her restless mind. "It's going to be OK, now. You're awake… it's all right. I'm here for you Priss." He continued to hold onto the trembling woman, lending her both physical and emotional support as best he could.

After a long while, Priss' shaking body finally calmed enough for her to acknowledge his presence. She turned her head upwards from his chest and shifted her terrified eyes into his own, blinking back tears of despair.

Leon no longer recognized the woman in his arms. She wasn't the powerful singer, commanding the crazed fans beneath her. She wasn't the street biker, the lone soul drifting into the night. She wasn't the fierce fighter, the one he suspected of wearing the blue armor of the Knight Sabers. She wasn't the passionate lover, the woman who had taken his heart from him. This was someone else… a frightened child… a cowering human… a nearly broken soul… _"What happened to you?"_ He whispered out the words without realizing that he had even spoken them… until Priss started answering the question.

She shut her eyes tight, squeezing out the remains of the fear onto Leon's gown, staining the fabric with her pain. "I… it… I couldn't move… It was all around me… couldn't get away from it…"

"What was all around you?" Leon asked softly, stroking her hair with one hand while massaging her back with the other.

"Green… it was… I was swimming… drowning… it was like water… but… but…" The all too vivid memories threatened to overtake the shaky ground her sanity stood upon, halting her train of thought.

Leon's own memory perked up at the repeated mention of the color green. Groggy recollections of waking up next to Daily, looking up at the boomer standing motionless in front of him… bathed in a dull green glow… and then the scream… and the Blue Saber standing behind the now fallen boomer, her arm outstretched with the crushed core in her armored grasp… then the reaction afterwards, gripping the helmet as if to tear it off her head… he recalled the blue form before him almost shuddering for some unknown reason. "It's because of the boomer at the club, right?"

The woman lying next to him looked up into his face again, haunted eyes met his own. Indecisive, she shifted her gaze away while answering his question through her rattled voice. "I… don't think so… it's wasn't the boomer… not it… something else… something…"

"Then what?" Leon prodded. He regretted it a second later.

Priss' already tense body hardened up even more. "I don't know!" she fired out, pounding her fist on his chest in frustration, drawing out yet another pained grunt from the injured man. Falling silent again, her weakened frame continued to tremble under the pressure of the encroaching anarchy in her head.

The stubbornness in Leon's own mind came to the forefront, begging him to continue to try and wrench the truth from her. A go-for-broke idea sprang to life, born from the memories of the battle at the club. "I suppose it was just a coincidence that the Blue Knight Saber showed up for the first time in a couple of weeks. That wouldn't have anything at all to do with your nightmares, would it?"

Priss' body grew eerily still at his question, mirroring the silence falling across the hospital room.

A hundred frightening possibilities crossed the ADP officer's mind on what she might do to him next... but he decided to dive in anyway. "When I woke up, the boomer was standing still in front of me and Daily. It was glowing a greenish color at the time. I just thought that might have something to do with the green in your nightmares…" He paused for a second, drawing out the dramatic effect and focusing on the woman lying next to him to better gauge her reaction. "… especially since the Blue Saber was glowing the same green color according to Daily."

The body next to him started to shiver slightly again as she lay in silent introspection. "Funny coincidence," she denied rather weakly, her voice cracking as she tried.

"Yeah, I thought so too… kind of reminded me of the first time I met you in that restaurant a month ago… just before the Blue Saber saved the green one her first time out," he added with just a hint of a sly smile on his face.

The reclusive woman seemed to retreat back into her shell, relaxing her grip on his shirt and starting to turn away from him. Unfortunately, she ran out of bed before she could accomplish the feat.

Before she could get off the bed, Leon managed to catch her body and draw Priss back into his chest, holding on to her tightly. "Listen, please don't run away now. I… I'm just really worried about you. I've never seen you like this before…"

Her shaken mental state was the only thing holding Priss back at the moment, although still not at all comfortable with Leon's line of questioning.

The ADP officer knew he was walking on seriously thin ice, but he had to know… and being tactful wasn't his strong suit. "I want to know the truth though… I want to know for sure if you're one of the Knight Sabers."

Priss' struggles stopped, but she still didn't answer his questions. The aura around her turned dark, more the familiar woman Leon knew from before. "Why? So you can call an ADP squad to gun me down?"

"You don't think I'd actually do that, do you?" A tense silence was his only answer. Leon breathed out a pained sigh through his sore ribcage, taking a step back for just a moment. "Like I said, I'm worried about you… I just want to know what happened to you yesterday. Besides, the Blue Saber was never at the club last night…according to the official accounts from Daily and me anyway."

That statement drew Priss' curiosity back into Leon's eyes. "Just why is that?"

"Nobody else needs to know that the Blue Saber showed up at the club you were singing at. Especially considering that she hasn't been seen active for the last two weeks... ever since that incident around Hugh Geit. Apparently something pretty ugly happened back there, so I wouldn't blame the blue one if she wanted to take a few weeks off... if not more…"

Quiet introspection fell over both people lying in the small hospital bed. Priss' focus shifted to the far wall again, although Leon could see this was tearing into her. He began to regret the pointed questions, wondering if he had irreparably damaged their budding relationship now… until the singer let out her own sigh and began speaking again.

"So what if I am a Knight Saber… would it change the way you feel about me?"

A small grin grew out of Leon's previously nervous expression. "No, not at all. It's no big deal to me if you are one of them. Besides, the Blue Saber just saved my life… and that wasn't the first time either. I'd like to thank her personally for that."

Leon McNichol gazed down into the brown globes that now returned the message back to him… the message that he had waited impatiently for the last week to hear. In her eyes, he saw the wordless affirmation and was drawn even further into her soul by it. He caressed the side of her colored cheeks with one hand, smoothing out the lines of tears shed not a few minutes previous.

The dark mood dissolved between the bond that now joined the two of them. The short distance between their lips was methodically crossed in a few precious moments, raw energy flowing through the shared touch. As Priss leaned into the kiss, Leon was forced to break off prematurely because of his recent injuries.

"Umm… sorry," she added not to sympathetically with a sly smile.

"Tha… That's OK," he grinned through gritted teeth.

"Oh, and you're welcome… by the way."

Leon smiled at the verbal acknowledgement. He continued to gently hold Priss close to his hammering heart, happy that one hurdle had been virtually crossed, but now staring down at the next one in his mind. After a few minutes of sharing their new found closeness, the ADP officer decided to go for the next rung. "About yesterday… was that just a one time deal, or are you back with them full time?"

"A one night only show… had to save the band's stuff," she remarked smartly.

The big man breathed a sigh of relief that Priss noticed as well. "That's good." Another in the succession of questions he still had popped into his mind. "Anyway, you quit because of Linna, right?"

That statement tripped the singer from her careful balance, falling towards the rage trapped inside her soul at the mention of the traitor's name. Through clenched teeth, she answered the question. "Something like that."

"The song you performed the other night… the ballad… that was for her, wasn't it?"

"If you know so much, then why the hell are you asking me about it?"

"Sorry. I guess I should have thought about how much it would bother you to bring it up. I just wanted to make sure I was right. I want to know everything about you, and you've kept more a few secrets from me."

"That's one I'd prefer to leave dead and buried," she said with more than just one meaning in mind.

Leon noticed her tone. "Fair enough. Now about these nightmares…"

Priss tensed up again at their mere mention… the dreaded memories crawling back into her consciousness.

"I think it might have something to do with that green glow around both you and the boomer. What happened exactly?"

"I… I just don't know. I hit the core, but couldn't crush… I couldn't… the suit wouldn't…" she struggled with control as her mind erected mental blocks to keep the madness out, but at the same time cutting off her thoughts before they could reach fruition.

Leon sensed the difficulty through her voice and nervous body language. Hugging her tightly as he could without further damaging his ribcage, he attempted to transfer his confidence into her heart.

It partially worked… enough for the singer to continue to relay her ordeal. "The suit wouldn't move. Then, it felt like the suit started… it began to… meld… with… me," her voice growing distant as the meaning of the words corrupted her thoughts.

"That's happened with our K-suits too. From what I've seen, the guys who don't come back are the lucky ones," Leon added without thinking, until he felt Priss wince in his arms. "Damn… um, sorry. Guess I still haven't learned when to keep my big mouth shut." He thought about how to pull himself out of the hole he had just dug while Priss further retreated inside herself. He squeezed her tightly once before trying to speak again. "I wish there was a way I could help. It's not like you can exactly go to one of the ADP counseling sessions or one of our shrinks either… what about the other Knight Sabers though?" he threw out, thinking out loud.

That thought broke off the downward spiral Priss was locked in. "What?"

"I just thought that if anyone could understand what happened, maybe they could." Another thought spurned off of his mind. "Was the white one OK after the battle yesterday? Daily thought she was dead when he first got to the club."

_Sylia…_ "She's… she was all right when I left."

"Did you tell her about what happened?"

"Yeah, we talked a little." Priss' body relaxed once more at the current topic of discussion, somehow comforting her to know she could confide the truth with him.

"Do you think it would help if you went back and just talked with her some more? Maybe she would understand what happened, because I sure don't."

A low smile cracked from Priss' pale features for just a moment. "That makes two of us."

A knock on the door disturbed both inhabitants of the room. "Hello, Mr. McNichol…" a male voice spoke through the now opened entranceway to the room. "… it's time for your exit exam… um, whoops! Sorry, didn't realize you had company in here!" The flush-faced doctor exclaimed not very discreetly at the sight of the two people intertwined with each other under the sheets.

Much to his relief, the ADP officer pulled the covers back to reveal the two of them still fully clothed. "You can stay if you want," Leon suggested to Priss, who stood up from the bed to give the patient his space.

"I've got something I need to take care of anyway," she replied, bending back over and planting a passionate kiss on his lips, bringing a hearty smile to the man's face. Priss turned and walked out the door, leaving the two men staring after her wake.

Suddenly, Leon shouted out after her. "Priss! Wait!" After a few seconds the now rideless man realized he was out of luck. "Well, I hope Daily doesn't mind waking up in the middle of his sleep to come get me out of here."

* * *

Sylia answered the call in the back of her store, not expecting anything out of the ordinary… until she saw the face on the other end of the line. 

"Priss! How are you doing now?" Sylia greeted warmly, although she thought she saw the answer in the singer's glassy eyes.

"I've been better," she replied honestly. "Look, I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday."

"I see. I hope you've reconsidered your choice from last night," the Knight Sabers' leader spoke with more than a hint of hope in her voice.

Priss avoided answering the comment. "When can I come over to see you?"

"A personal visit. Now that does sound appealing," Sylia began toying enthusiastically.

_I knew this wouldn't be a good idea… _"Cut the crap Sylia. Just tell me when we can talk for more than five minutes."

"Alright. How about seven tonight?"

"Ok. See you then," Priss said as she hung up the line.

_Well, things are certainly getting interesting now _the light haired woman thought to herself as she headed back out to the floor of the Silky Doll to continue the ruse around her true operations. A few minutes later though, Sylia was back at the vidphone again… another idea springing to her mind about a way to tackle two problems simultaneously.

* * *

The ringing phone drew the exhausted Nene from the sleep she so desperately needed more of. Recognizing the face on the other end of the line, the other Knight Saber cringed inwardly about the likely topic of conversation. "Yes Sylia," she answered weakly.

"I'd like to have an early meeting this evening to discuss the future of the search, especially considering your _'issues'_ with me from yesterday."

She hesitated for a moment, contemplating not only what she had found out the day previous about the true nature of the search, but of the lack of information she had on the boomer incident at Hot Legs last night. "What time?"

"Is seven too early for you?"

"No. No, I'll be there."

"Good. I can have Henderson make you some breakfast if you would like."

"Sure, whatever."

"See you at seven then."

"Bye," Nene answered, disconnecting the line. She tried to fall back asleep but found her nerves not cooperating with the plan, her mind spinning with the depths of everything she needed to talk about with Sylia… and what they could mean to her and Mackey…

* * *

The door to the seemingly abandoned apartment opened up, letting the light from the hallway illuminate the dark interior of the studio apartment. A lone figure crossed the plane of the doorframe, struggling to recall the location of the light switch on the wall. With a silent click, the lighting responded to the flow of electrons, bathing the dusty interior surfaces with its unnatural glow.

"Guess I need to do a little spring cleaning," Linna encouraged herself as she inspected the results of two weeks of vacancy in her home away from home in Tokyo. "First though, I've got something a little more important to do..."

Picking up the phone, she noted with a small sense of relief that she still had a dial tone, her service not disconnected just yet.

Struggling with her memory again for a moment, her fingers eventually remembered the sequence she was trying to mentally recall. After a couple of rings the face of a young woman wrapped in head towel appeared in the screen before her.

"Sylia! I'm awake alread… uhh.., oh my god. LINNA!"

The vidphone was suddenly filled with a very ecstatic Nene, who appeared to be hugging the screen on her end. "Hi Nene," the brown haired woman smiled back.

The teenager on the other end of the line backed away from her own vidphone, a lone tear falling from her glowing face. "Oh my God! Where are you? Wait, that number… that's your apartment… You're in TOKYO!" she yelled out, noticing the caller-id information displayed in front of her.

"Yes. It's a little dusty, but everything still seems to be here."

"How are you? Did you get my E-mail?"

"That's why I'm here. I read your message… is it really that bad?" Linna queried darkly.

Nene's own face turned deadly serious at the question. "I really think so, but I haven't confirmed it with Sylia yet… hey wait, I'm meeting with her in less than an hour. Can you meet me there?" Nene asked, unsure if the other Knight Saber was really ready for this now.

Linna hesitated for a moment before deciding now was as good as any time. "Sure, but my scooter…"

"Hang on and I'll find a bus route for you," Nene encouraged.

After a couple minutes of coordination, Linna had written out a schedule to get to the Lady 633 building. "Thanks Nene."

"No problem."

"Um, one more thing Nene…" Linna began nervously. "… are you sure Priss… won't be…" she trailed off, unsure how to word her fears.

A flash of concern spread over the other woman's face as she spoke about the incident from last night. "I don't think she's coming back to the Knight Sabers, although something happened last night at her club…"

"What?" Linna asked worriedly.

"A boomer when rogue at Hot Legs and killed a couple of people."

"Oh no… Is Priss all right? She wasn't hurt was she?" genuinely concerned even through the other lingering emotions regarding the street biker.

"Sylia said she was fine, although she couldn't tell me anything else because of another migraine… she really shouldn't have tried to go out by herself last night…"

"Do you think Sylia's headaches getting worse?"

"I don't know. It kind of seems that way, though. Hey, I've got to finish getting ready… I'll meet you outside the store, OK?"

"Sure," Linna answered weakly, uncertain of what Nene had just told her. Gathering her purse, she headed towards the first bus stop on her route… and towards the looming storm now converging on the Knight Sabers' operational base.

* * *

The door opened to the lounge of the Lady 633 building, rousing Sylia from her personal introspection. She stood up to greet one of her fellow Knight Sabers… but the one she saw first nearly stopped her heart. "Linna!"

Nearly sprinting to the door, she met the two women just as the door behind them slid shut. "Why… why are you here? Did Nene…"

"Yep," the teenager answered the unasked question as she appeared from behind the taller woman. "All I had to do was ask, and our resident superheroine flew to our rescue," she added, barely able to contain a girlish giggle.

"Thanks Nene," Linna growled back at her. Turning serious, she shifted her attention back to Sylia. "Nene said that you repaired my hardsuit and still had it ready."

"Yes. I admit I really didn't think it would ever get used again, but I suppose I was hoping for some kind of miracle," she said with a smile. "So you really are back to help out with the search, right?"

Linna looked at Nene with a question on her mind. "Um, yeah. But I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about exactly what it is we're supposed to be looking for."

Sylia's shifty eyes moved from Linna's face to Nene's and back again. She let out a sigh and drooped her shoulders as she spoke. "I suppose I do owe a bit more of an explanation to you than I gave Nene before… besides, it'll be easier to tell all three of you together anyway."

"Three of us?" Nene asked a bit perplexed. "Mackey's coming too?"

"No, not Mackey," Sylia corrected.

"Then it's…"

"…Priss," Linna finished for Nene, ghostly voice full of dread that neither woman standing next to her understood. Her heart hammered out the numerous fears now running rampant through her mind.

"Yes, she should be here any minute. Linna, is there something wrong?"

Before the panicking woman could answer, Nene piped up first. "So just what happened last night? Did Priss say she would come back to the Knight Sabers?"

The sound of footsteps just outside the door drew the attention of all three women as it opened up, revealing the object of their discussion complete with her signature leathers, her pale face nearly emotionless… until she saw exactly who was already inside the room.

"Well, now that we're all here…" an unsuspecting Sylia started before a snarling voice cut off her introduction.

"What the _hell_ is she doing here!" Priss growled out, ice-cold stare boring into the shaking woman standing just a couple of meters away.

Nene's head flashed back and forth between the two 'friends', trying to understand. "Wha… what's going on?"

The scowling woman ignored the questions as she verbally drilled into the hated one standing before her. "I _told_ you _never_ to come back to Tokyo _again_!"

The accusation broke the trance of anxiety Linna had fallen into the instant her eyes locked with the burning brown daggers of the woman still standing in the doorway. "You said you _never_ wanted to see me again, so it's _my_ fault that _you_ decided to show up here tonight!" she fired back.

Priss' scowl deepened at Linna's pointed retort. "Show up here! Tell _me you_ didn't know that I put on a hardsuit again last night!"

"What! I just found out an hour ago that a boomer attacked your club! I had no idea you wore your hardsuit!"

"_You lying bitch,"_ Priss seethed at her.

"What did you call me!" Linna challenged.

Ignoring the protest, one of the crueler ideas chiseled into the walls of hate erected in Priss' corrupted mind slunk into the forefront of her consciousness. The leather-clad demon began to stalk towards the plain dressed woman with sinister intentions at her fingertips.

Linna stood her ground as Priss strode directly to her face, both of them oblivious to the protests of the other two spectators in the room.

"So I suppose you think your ready to put on a hardsuit again, huh?" the former Blue Saber taunted.

"Y… Yes I am," Linna stammered, begin to struggle with the intimidation of her rival's proximity.

"We'll just see about that," Priss threatened darkly. With a lightning quick jerk, her right hand drew back and then struck down at the shocked woman's abdomen… the exact spot of her original injuries from the accident a short time ago.

Linna entire body flinched hard from the expectation of the hard fist slamming into her still healing body… except that it never happened. Her downward facing eyes opened to see Priss' hardened fist stopped just centimeters from the target… an evil grin plastered on her face as well. It didn't matter though… the damage was done. Just the act of tensing every muscle, and especially the ones still not whole around the injury, caused her to groan in agony almost as if she had been actually hit. Her legs began to falter as the former track star slumped over, both arms covering her pained midsection.

"Heh, didn't think so," the attacker gloated.

"Priss, what the hell are you doing!" Sylia screamed out.

The instigator turned towards her with a devilish grin that the Knight Sabers leader didn't recognize. Just as she was about to speak, the injured woman barely standing beside her spat out an insult that immediately drew the biker's insane ire.

"Y… You fucking bitch…" 

Without a second though, Priss whirled around and drove a second blow deep into the scarred flesh of the unprepared woman, finding a narrow gap not covered by her shielding arms.

As Priss watched with dark fascination, Linna crumpled to the ground directly at her feet, coughing up drops of blood as she balled up onto the formerly pristine surface.

An equally impure thought of delivering a kick to her prone side was cut off by a tackle from Sylia who decided that physical intervention was the only way to stop the carnage from continuing.

"Priss! Stop this NOW!" the Knight Sabers leader shouted into the ears of the fierce warrior.

Priss' ears were closed off however by her corrupted mind still bent on revenge for the wrongs she thought she had been dealt. The former gang member tussled with Sylia's grasp, threatening more damage to the tortured body lying on the ground. However, a feral scream halted Priss' struggles as her disbelieving eyes transmitted the unlikely images to her brain… the woman she thought prone and helpless somehow sprung to her feet and flew past the stunned Nene.

With one arm still covering her stomach, Linna's other arm launched itself at the startled singer. The punch sailed just past Sylia's ear and connected to the side of Priss' face, driving her back through the still open doorway and out into the hall.

Priss staggered backwards from the force of the counterattack, falling despite her best efforts to stay upright.

Linna flailed behind a blocking Sylia as a near hysterical Nene desperately tried to hold her back.

The Knight Sabers' leader raised her voice yet another notch to try and regain control over the rapidly deteriorating situation. "Stop right this instant! Both of you!" she glared hard into first Linna and then Priss.

"I'm not quitting until her ass is mine!" Linna bellowed out from behind Nene, who was only able to hold back the bigger woman because of the damage already inflicted on her body.

"I'm not stopping until she's dead," the leather-clad one promised, shaking out the cobwebs and hauling herself upright.

Sylia caught her before Priss could start any momentum towards the other enraged woman.

Both combatants fought to free themselves from the two women struggling to restrain them until a piercing cry froze Linna in place.

"Please stop fighting! We need everyone to be able to stop this thing!" the blond teenager pleaded with wisdom beyond her years.

"… the earthquake…" Linna recalled out loud, her own anger evaporating under the fright that had chilled her soul after reading the E-mail two days ago.

The words paralyzed the light-haired woman still holding Priss back. "Wh… What did you say?"

Neither Linna nor Nene had a chance to respond as the she-demon knocked the taller woman to the ground with a sharp elbow and charged with bezerker rage directly at the woman now standing motionless in the doorway.

Linna saw the attack coming, but finally recognized the bigger picture. Thus she stood in place, waiting for Priss to knock her down yet again. _The only way to end this… let her win… _She closed her eyes and hoped it wouldn't be too long of a recovery… assuming she lived to recover at all…

Priss didn't particularly care if Linna just stood there or tried to defend herself… all she wanted was her blood spilled over the floor. Going for the known weak spot, the former gang member howled out the attack as she directed her strike around the blocking Nene and into Linna's marred body… that blow never reached the target.

Hearing the death-cry from Priss, Nene's head snapped around in time to see the fist streaking down into Linna's midsection. Reacting on instinct alone, the smaller girl tried to push Linna out of the way… but instead just placed her own smallish frame in harms way. An unsettling thud followed by a high-pitched grunt signaled the damage done to the youngest Knight Saber. The teenager's shaking arms covered her own stomach, her torso nearly doubling over from the ferocity of the assault… crippled body slowly sinking to the floor.

"NENE!" Linna dropped down to the ground and wrapped her own wounded body protectively over the top of her. "Nene, you idiot…" the young woman mothered the girl beneath her between her own agonized breaths. "…you should've just stayed out of the way."

The image of sacrifice along with the compassionate words burned themselves into the back of the leather-clad woman's mind. The hatred… all the bitter hatred… the loathing… the bloodthirsty desire for revenge… it all drained from Priss' blackened heart as the truth of what she had just accomplished hit home. Her head twisted back to see a groggy Sylia pulling herself up from the floor, gingerly covering her newly bruised ribs. The moaning of the girl below Linna drew her attention to the doorway again. "What… what have I…" Priss stammered, lifting her hands before quivering eyes, flexing her fingers as if they were possessed with their own twisted mind.

"Are you happy now Priss!" Linna shot out, now cradling the suffering teenager in her lap. "Why don't you just get the hell out of here!"

"no, wait," a weak voice interrupted from her arms. "we need her… we need her to stop Tokyo from being destroyed again…"

"Nene…" Linna softly called to her.

The youngest Knight Saber turned her head up to look into Priss' eyes. "If Genom had to use an earthquake device to stop this ten years ago, we can't let anyone find it again… we can't!" Nene cried out through pained tears streaming down both sides of her face.

"Earthquake… not the one that…" a disbelieving Priss stared down into the young woman, unable to fathom exactly what the implications of her statements meant.

"Yes, the same one that killed so many… and led to Genom's boomer revolution." Sylia's interjection drew the other women's attention towards her. "How did you find out?"

Nene, still wincing from the throbs in her own abdomen, sat up on the floor, wiping away the streaks on her face. "A single government file… the only record of the incident at the WizLab…" The hacker proceeded to reveal what she had learned from the file… the police action to contain the accident… the unnatural method of their deaths… Genom's blunt response… the aftermath… "The only thing I couldn't find out was…" Nene shifted her eyes up into Sylia's own haunted ones. "…just how you were involved," and instantly recognized there was much more she didn't yet know.

The Knight Sabers' leader nervously shifted her eyes away from the others, struggling with just how much she really could divulge about her 'involvement'.

"So it's true then," Priss interrupted, the fire returning to her eyes. "This thing… the thing you're trying to find now… Genom destroyed Tokyo just to try and stop it!"

"I know it's not easy…" Sylia tried to explain before being cut off.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us before!"

"How was I supposed to tell you Priss? You tried to kill me the only time I saw you," Sylia retorted angrily.

"But you hid the truth from me," Nene countered.

"Yes. Yes, I did… and I'm sorry for that Nene. But with both Priss and Linna gone from the Knight Sabers, I didn't want to risk losing you too… and I was afraid that once you heard just how serious this is, that you would quit as well."

"Two weeks ago… maybe… but not after all that's happened since. I couldn't leave knowing that we might be the only ones that could stop this thing, this 'her', from being used again." _Especially knowing that Mackey is here with you _she finished to herself.

"Her?" Linna asked confused from her sitting spot on the floor next to Nene.

"Look, why don't we finish this conversation in the lounge. We obviously have a lot to discuss and I think we could all use a more comfortable setting to recover from our 'injuries'," Sylia suggested with no hint of sarcasm in her voice whatsoever.

Nene and Linna helped each other up slowly, both grunting and groaning from the exertion. Gingerly, they walked into the lounge, only Nene looked back to see if Sylia or Priss were following.

The Knight Sabers' leader started to circle around the woman standing still, indecisive. Reaching the doorway, the Sylia turned back around to face her reluctant warrior. "Are you coming?"

Priss looked down into her hands, flexing them through the leather gloves she wore. Her mind swirled with the conflicting emotions she felt as if she had let run rampant through her resolve. Her control lost… her sanity in question… her purposes for seeing Sylia in the first place clouded by the presence of the one person who seemed to affect her more than anyone she had ever known…

"Priss," Sylia interrupted her internal review, stepping forward to let the lounge door close behind her, isolating their conversation from the two women recovering in the room beyond. "You didn't come here tonight to rejoin the Knight Sabers, did you?"

A motionless silence affirmed her assumption.

"One thing that came to my mind after you called today was that you may just be looking for more answers into what happened to you last night… and I've been wondering the same things myself." Sylia noted with hope that the sullen biker gazed up at her with a flicker of something in her eyes… that something close to a flash of deep despair crying out for relief… but just a brief flash… barely recognizable unless one had seen it in the mirror before as Sylia had herself countless times in the past.

"I'm beginning to wonder if what you… what we've both been experiencing isn't related to this search. The only way I know to deal with it is to find it… and eliminate it permanently. That's the only way. Running away now is only going to prolong the agony. And I know… from personal experience…" The daughter of Professor Stingray let her words trail off into the terrifying nightmares of her past for just a brief moment before regaining control over her own emotions… but it was enough to convince Priss as to her sincerity.

Priss nodded to Sylia to signal her acceptance, but still hesitated to move when Sylia turned back around towards the lounge.

"It's Linna, isn't it?" the light-haired woman asked, looking back over her shoulder.

"I… It's just…"

"I'm not sure what could have led to you hating her enough to do what you did, but if anyone was going to be so full of hate and bitterness, I would have thought Linna would have been the one… not you."

"Guess you don't know me very well then, do you?"

"There's a lot about you I don't know Priss my dear…" Sylia countered behind a sly smile, facing Priss once again, drawing one hand close to the singer's face. "…but that's why I find you so charming," she added, gently stroking a pale cheek.

Thrown off balance by the unpredictable temptress, Priss' face flushed with the unexpected contact as she reactively backed into the wall trying to avoid the touch.

"Hmm, interesting," Sylia noted with a sly smile, maintaining her distance.

"Grrr, Sylia!"

The light-haired woman headed back for the lounge, rubbing her bruised ribs with one arm… but not holding much of a grudge based on the next words she spoke. "The answers you're looking for will be waiting for you in here Priss."

The metal barrier slid shut leaving the confused woman to try and straighten out her puzzled thoughts alone. Staring into the door before her, Priss could feel the echoes of emotions that would ripple through her soul if she chose to follow Sylia this time. Distant pangs of guilt and remorse from her role in the accident with Linna drifted just outside the burning black flames of hatred for the betrayal of her heart's trust. Through those flames the ruined past of her earthquake ravaged childhood tormented her entire being… and the new knowledge of just how it had really happened. Along with that knowledge came the realization that the worse may yet be to come.

Her body chilled as Sylia's last words crept home… _could my nightmares really be coming from it, from this 'her'? _Ultimately the fighter within Priss rose up once again from the ashes of the streets she grew up on… emerging out of the chasm of the quake, pushing aside the specters of fear, doubt, hatred and regret… leaving one clear choice to her body. With purpose in her steps, Priss Asagiri stepped through the plane of the doorway and into the shadowy lair of the Knight Sabers once more.

_To be continued…_


	20. Ch 20: Terms of Embitterment

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 20 – Terms of Embitterment

By Analogk37

* * *

The road blurred before the brown eyes of the biker, her thoughts now reduced to a mere jumble of emotions. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, they wouldn't stop fluctuating across the opposite corners of her broken heart. All the revelations of the evening threw whatever "plans" she might have had for recovering to the wind. Now Priss realized there was only one way to beat the madness threatening to overwhelm her… face it head on. Normally, that's exactly how the Knight Saber preferred to tackle her problems. However, this problem might have been much easier to handle had it not been for the appearance of one person in particular… the one person she had used as a mental crutch against the growing anarchy within her corrupted mind.

The sight of Linna in the lounge had proved so much more than she could rationally deal with at the time. It was hard enough going back to see Sylia once again, her mind steeled against her former "employer" trying to coax her back into the Knight Sabers once again. But she needed Sylia's help, and thus had found herself walking through the door into the temptress' lair once again… except she hadn't made it all the way through at first. All the pent up rage stored away in her blackened soul exploded out in the instant she laid her eyes on the betrayer of her trust… transmitting itself into pure hatred that had seemingly crippled Linna's injured body with one single blow.

Priss found herself fighting back the hint of a smile, but not because of the damage she had inflicted on the woman she had struck. She found it hard not to admire the fact that Linna had gotten back up yet again, still fighting against everything she had thrown at her. Not that Priss was smiling at the time… Linna's counterattack had thrown whatever she had been holding back into the fray as well. The end result was having all three Knight Sabers lying on the floor, injured from her assault. However, after the 'revelations' began to come out, their internal conflict dissolved under the weight of the responsibility they now bore together. Thus they had all finally entered the lounge together, listening to Sylia's somewhat cryptic explanation of events.

Priss could easily tell Sylia was still hiding something, but she never got the chance to confront her about it. The light haired woman had started off by talking about an experiment gone wrong… an experiment that produced the phenomenon her father named Galatea. But just as she had begun filling in the gaps left by Nene's discoveries, a sudden migraine halted her explanation. Then, just as suddenly, Linna had abruptly walked out, still covering her injured abdomen. Priss recalled that Linna hadn't said a single word the entire time. After Linna, a concerned Nene trailed after her following close behind. Henderson had then helped Sylia to her room to try and recover; leaving Priss all alone in the lounge… a position she didn't revel in at all at the moment despite her usual isolationist attitudes.

Thus, the biker decided to head back out to the open highway to try and straighten out her thoughts. But even as she had walked out of the Lady 633 building, her mind shifted back to the woman who had suddenly up and left, withdrawn behind her own emotional shell. The growing similarity between the outsider and her own past gang-ridden life played in the back of her mind as she pulled up in front of the familiar run down trailer she called home. It wasn't until she stepped off the bike and began searching for the kickstand that Priss realized her mistake. "Shit! Leon…"

The distracted woman remembered the injured ADP officer calling her from his apartment and asking to bring him some medicine, and her verbal promise to come see him later… if not the unspoken promise to stay there for the night. She hopped back on Leon's unfamiliar two-wheeled cycle and headed back towards his apartment… with a couple of stops planned on the way.

* * *

Leon discovered he would make a terrible housewife. He looked over at the clock next to his bed and noted with a smirk that it was exactly two minutes since the last time he had checked. _This is crazy… _He knew Priss should have been back a long time ago, but she was definitely her own person… not that it made it any easier to wait on her.

The sound of the door opening brought him immediately from his worries. "Priss? Is that you?"

The subject of his concerns made her presence known by walking in the bedroom and tossing a box of pills in his direction. "Who else did you think it was?"

"I guess it could have been Daily. But he's already annoyed enough with me for waking him up today while he was trying to get some sleep for his shift. So how'd it go?"

Priss didn't immediately answer his question, instead just staring at the floor, wondering why she felt as if she even needed to answer his question in the first place. _It's not like I owe him anything really _The problem was, she didn't necessarily agree with her own thoughts. He had helped her through her nightmares and had also helped with her recovery from Linna… although the circle seemed to be closing in on her once again on that little problem.

"That good, huh?"

"What? Oh, sorry," Priss said almost apologetically, pulling back from her indecision. "It… It could have gone better."

"So did they have any idea what's happening to you?" Leon questioned, the concern audibly showing through despite his tired voice

"Yes," the Knight Saber started, still unsure how to explain everything that had happened in the evening. "'They' think something is behind it… something that we've got to stop."

"What is it?"

She paused for a moment to consider how much more to reveal about the operation considering the importance of it… and Leon's tendency to get involved in things he shouldn't. "I… I can't say much," she cautioned.

"Let me guess… it's because I'm with the ADP." Priss' silence answered the question for him. "When you said 'something we've got to stop'… are you saying you're back with them now?"

"Until this is over, yes," Priss answered, welcoming the change of subject.

"So all three of you are going out to try and do this by yourselves?"

"Four actually," Priss corrected, rubbing the side of her face that Linna had connected with on her surprising counterattack.

Within the dimly lit bedroom, Leon finally noticed the fresh bruise on the side of the biker's face, a flash of concern crossing his own pained features. "What's that from?"

The biker's face turned cross at the mental image of the answer. "Someone I didn't expect to see tonight," she answered cryptically.

The resentment underlying her words led Leon to one name… "Linna?" Once again, silence reaffirmed his suspicions. Sudden anger filled his own heart at the angst filling his lover's soul over that name. "Priss, this is nuts! You can't go back to the Knight Sabers with her there…"

"I don't have a choice!" she fired back at him. "This damn thing's ripping me apart from the inside out! The only way to stop it is to kill it… and that's exactly what I'm going to do… Linna, or no Linna."

* * *

The dark corridors wailed with the whipping wind howling through the crumbling ruins, the eerie setting chilling the woman almost to the bone for some unknown reason. She flashed her head back and forth to gather her bearings once again. She knew she was looking for that thing… the phenomenon that had forced Genom to level Tokyo with an earthquake device to stop before. _Where is it? Where is she? _

An icy gust through the shadowy tunnel shivered the woman's arms to the point of distraction, forcing her to look down at her armored arms… except the metal coating didn't protect them as she expected. "My… my hardsuit? Where…"

A piercing shrill from the passage behind her spun the fearful woman around… and directly into the burning red eyes of a rogue boomer.

Before she could even scream out the monstrosity engulfed her body with its snakelike tendrils, pinning her arms and legs together, hauling her into the air. Then she screamed… a terrifying, blood-curdling scream that flooded the tunnels with her fear.

As the echoes of the scream died away, the hollow tapping of approaching footsteps drew out of the windswept hallways. The woman cocked her head around hopeful that one of her comrades had somehow heard her cry for help. A lone figure emerged from the shadows cast from the darkness, the shape resolving into one of her fellow teammates. "Priss!"

The figure dressed in her signature biking leathers stopped at the recognition of her name, pausing momentarily behind an emotionless charade worn over her pale features.

Suddenly, the boomer shifted the woman around to face her teammate. It growled out an unrecognizable message that sent fresh shivers through its captive's spine.

Priss' façade cracked, revealing a hellishly evil grin that preceded her battle cry as she charged into the prone woman held immobile by the boomer.

"Wait! Priss, NO!"

The woman blinked in the face of the attack, her eyes reopening to the impossible transformation of the formerly unarmed Priss into a gleaming blue hardsuit, rocketing directly for her stomach. The woman had an agonizingly perfect view of the death strike… the knucklebomb sinking directly into her unprotected midsection with sickening force… lungs expelling their last gasp under the forceful assault. Breathless, the shocked woman lifted her face into the eyes of her attacker visible through the opened visor on her blue helmet… the brown globes illuminated by the fiery rage glowing from within her blackened soul.

"See you in hell," the she-demon promised, triggering the charge on the knucklebomb with a bellowing cackle that rang in the woman's ears even as she braced against the inevitable doom buried deep in her body. Her insides instantly exploded…

… tossing Nene onto the floor as she screamed out once again, holding her scorching abdomen as if to keep her intestines from spilling out. Slowly her shouts died away enough to hear the phone ringing off to the side… its calming tone drawingher from the trapping visions of nightmares and into the reality now surrounding her. _"M… My room…"_ Nene squeaked out, her eyes slowly focusing on the familiar day lit surroundings of her apartment. _"A dream… just a dream…"_ she gasped heavily, lying on her side as her body continued to shake almost violently.

The persistent ringing finally urged the woman on to crawl along the floor, one hand still covering her midsection, until she reached the vidphone. Dragging herself up into the chair, she punched the answer button reflexively, answering the call with a groaned out "Hello."

The tired face of Linna sheepishly looked in from the other end of the connection. "Um, I'm sorry for bothering… NENE! Are you OK? You look like…"

"Please, don't say it," the teenager cut her off before she could bring up any inadvertent references to the painful nightmare.

"I'm really sorry. I forgot you'd be sleeping now until after I had already dialed…. I just figured I'd leave a message. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, not really. Someone else took care of that already," Nene replied darkly, finally managing to contain her shaking as her nerves slowly calmed.

"Who? Did Sylia check up on you again?"

Nene hesitated through her lingering fear of the dream. "No. It was… I had a pretty bad dream, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well… It… I think I was looking for Galatea…"

"That's enough to give anyone nightmares Nene," Linna added out of her misunderstanding.

"That wasn't the worst part. A boomer attacked me… but I didn't have my hardsuit on anymore. But then, it didn't try and hurt me. It just held me up… then Priss showed up."

A gasp of understanding filtered through the speakers of the phone as Linna's face showed the deep concern and understanding she now knew. "Oh Nene…"

"At first I thought she was going to help… but then…"

"She did hurt you pretty bad yesterday."

"I don't think that was everything though," the teenager added, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle that had made up her dream. "Y'know, I never did hear exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago from Priss or Sylia."

"The accident? I remember… you were telling me in the hospital that you didn't really know what happened either. They never talked to you about it?"

"No," Nene answered, as a sly grin grew out of the lingering pain still visible on her face. "But I grabbed the hardsuit files from the incident. Yours wasn't much help… I think the blow that gave you the concussion knocked out the video feed. On the other hand, Priss' video…"

Linna cut her off with wide eyes. "So you saw it? The whole thing?"

"Yes. I think that's why I had the nightmare… sort of a twisted mix of the past." She then remembered Linna's own questions at the hospital, causing her own thoughts to turn back to her friend. "I'm… Maybe… Would you like to see it sometime? Assuming you still don't remember what happened."

The brown haired face in the screen looked away, deep in introspection for a few moments before turning back to the camera. "No, I don't think I want to relive that part of the past again... not that I even know exactly what happened. I… I just want to move forward… and find this "Galatea" Sylia talked about last night."

Nene nodded her affirmation of the importance of the search wordlessly, but her thoughts drifted back to the she-demon in her dreams… and just why she had acted that way in the first place. "Linna?"

"Yes Nene?"

"I… I wanted to ask you this yesterday, but I knew you were still pretty upset... after walking out on Sylia and all… But… Why… Why did Priss attack you? She said something… something about not coming back to Tokyo again. What was that about?"

Linna looked away from the screen as soon as Nene had started to speak. She knew exactly what the inquisitive girl wanted to know, but had no idea how to explain it to her… not that she had any real intentions of discussing that particular issue in the first place. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Nene could sense the pain her friend and teammate was still in, but her unending curiosity eventually won out. "But, it was like she wanted to kill you almost. The last time I saw her, she seemed so full of guilt about it. What could have changed her so much?"

Linna's vision shifted away from the screen again, losing herself in memories of the past dredged up once more.

Nene's questions continued to sprout in her young mind, and she found herself unable to turn off the endless flow coming from her mouth. "But you knew… you corrected her, didn't you? You said that Priss told you she never wanted to see you again. Did that happen at the hospital? I never found out what happened there other than what the hospital files said before they were deleted… and what Sylia told me… which wasn't much."

The woman sighed heavily on the other end of the connection. "No, it wasn't at the hospital. Priss came to see me. She came to apologize, although she tried to run out."

"What do you mean 'tried'?"

"I… well… I tried to stop her, but just wound up falling out of bed instead. I pulled out some stitches too, but I didn't know it at the time."

"So Priss helped you back up?" she guessed.

"Actually… she caught me."

"Gee, falling into her arms… that almost seems romantic…" Nene spoke without thinking. She looked back into the screen to discover Linna's face now shaded beet red. More questions immediately popped into the teenagers mind, but she somehow managed to hold those at bay.

"Umm… yeah, well… my parents came in shortly afterwards and pointed out the blood on the hospital gown," the embarrassed country girl stammered out at first before finally recovering.

"Blood? Oh, form the stitches?"

"Yeah. I guess… I kinda… fainted when I saw it," Linna half-smiled, holding the back of her head with one hand.

"So, what happened with Priss and your parents?"

"Nothing. Priss left… and I… I never really found out why."

"But… that doesn't explain why she attacked you. Did something else happen later?"

"Nene… I… I just don't want to talk about it anymore, OK?"

"I'm sorry Linna. I just want to help…"

"I know… I know Nene. But I don't think anything can help in this case."

"Well, what are you going to do for the rest of the day? We aren't supposed to start the search again for another couple of hours."

"I don't know," Linna answered honestly. She thought for a moment about what she had been able to accomplish since recovering her source of transportation the night before from the Lady 633 building. "I already ran errands today since I've got my scooter back now, but I don't feel like going out and doing anything else. I'm just so anxious to get this over with…"

"Me too. Hey, why don't we start now?"

"But I thought that the daylight…"

"Nah! Don't worry! Nene Romanova, Girl Genius is on the case. I've got some special places to sneak underground now that I've been doing this for a week. I'll meet you in the pit in 45 minutes, OK?"

A genuine smile crossed Linna's face as she nodded her head in agreement. "How can I refuse that offer? All right, see you then."

The screen winked out, leaving Nene to her thoughts and the revelations of the phone call. _I still wonder what could have happened between those two… why do they hate each other so much now… _Her curiosity resolved to find out those answers sooner rather than later…

* * *

Sylia walked to the secluded office in back of her storefront to receive the call. She didn't want to chase any of her loyal customers away, and she knew the face on the other end of this call would probably draw some very unpleasant comments. "What do you want now?" she answered the vidphone with anger sifting through her vocal cords.

"Just to make sure that everything was in order on your end… and to see if any further assistance was required to help 'motivate' your team," the pale-faced man on the other end of the connection smirked.

"I think you provided enough 'motivation', as you call it, to last a lifetime," Sylia sneered bitterly. "Did you find it necessary to kill two people in cold blood?"

"I'm afraid that couldn't be helped as the directives for the operative were already set," Mason explained calmly. "It would have unnecessarily delayed things to reprogram the code… and wouldn't have been nearly as effective I might add."

"You haven't changed one bit. The end still justifies the means with you."

"But you've changed so much Sylia, my child. I'm curious though… you're not 'using' any members of the team… you're being completely honest with them about your intentions?"

"The internal workings of my group are no concern of yours so long as they are following my orders," Sylia defended herself with a stern voice.

"Well, I just thought you might have a small problem with trusting them… since two members of your team are starting the search early."

"Early? What do you…" Sylia started before catching a security camera view of the store, revealing two familiar young women walking over to a certain changing booth, cautiously checking to make sure no one else was watching or following them. She growled out her displeasure, momentarily losing her control. "I must be going. I have some other issues to address now."

"Before you go," Mason interrupted, hiding his victorious smile. "I wanted to ask what you intend to do exactly when you find the object of your search?"

"I've taken appropriate precautions to ensure that when we do find her, there won't be enough molecules to scrape together to even consider pursuing my father's research ever again."

"So does that mean you've incorporated the latest setting adjustments from Dr. Chang?"

Sylia's face lit up with the shock of discovery once again before her eyebrows burrowed against Mason's incessant taunting. "Yes, now there's no possibility of failure in stopping Galatea. Now if you'll excuse me."

"Certainly," Mason answered with smug confidence. "I'm sure our mission will be quite successful now." The screen cut off as the executive leaned back in his chair and let out a single triumphant chuckle. "Of course, Dr. Chang was very unhappy with my insistence on those changes. But we couldn't take the chance of the sonic cannon doing any unintentional harm, now could we my child?" he asked of the chilled air surrounding him.

That air failed to respond to the question, but that didn't prevent Mason from cackling out a hideous laugh borne from the madness corrupting his own calculating mind… the madness long since imbedded into his darkened soul from years of past pain and suffering… suffering from a childhood scorned by so many others… others that had now grown into adults… adults who would now receive their just rewards for his suffering… the vicious circle of prejudice borne from childhood ignorance about to be played out on a stage of the largest scale…

Mason's laugh continued to echo throughout the room as he carefully maneuvered all the players in place on his stage, the fiery stage of bloodthirsty revenge.

_To be continued…_


	21. Ch 21: Subterranean Signal Crossings

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 21 – Subterranean Signal Crossings

By Analogk37

* * *

(AN: For this short chapter I take a first person look at the characters involved. Hope its not _too_ confusing!)

* * *

_Aug 30, 2040 6:47 p.m. - Somewhere in Underground Tokyo

* * *

_

"I'm at the point Syila."

"OK, go ahead Nene."

_click ... (sigh)..._ "Not here either. Are you sure these things really work?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

"Um… sorry… Sylia, are you still mad at us?"

"No. _sigh_ No Nene, just tell me next time before you decide to suit up."

"Sorry Sylia. It's my fault. I talked Linna into it, so please don't blame her."

"It's alright Nene, I decided to start the search early too. I'll make sure to OK it with you first next time Sylia."

"Good. Honestly though, I'm glad both of you feel so strongly about the importance of this."

"Its no problem Sylia. We are trying to save Tokyo, after all."

"That's right Sylia. It's "Super Linna" to the rescue. I wonder if Nigel could put a cape on her hardsuit?"

"Heh, I suppose I could ask him about that. Would dark green be your color of choice Linna?"

"You two can stop with the superhero jokes any time now."

"What's that? OK. Ladies, Henderson has dinner prepared now, so I'm going to leave you for a few minutes. Nene, you do remember how to page me if you need me, right?"

"OF COURSE I do Sylia!"

"Good. I should be back in half an hour."

* * *

_Aug 30, 2040 7:04 p.m. – Somewhere in Underground Tokyo

* * *

_

"Linna?"

"Yes Nene."

"Do… Do you want to talk about Priss?"

"No."

"Oh. Maybe later?"

"Maybe."

* * *

_8:37 p.m. – Somewhere else in Underground Tokyo, while Sylia is out on a 'break'

* * *

_

"Linna?"

"_Yes?"_

"Do you want to talk about Priss now?"

"No I don't."

"Maybe later?"

"I doubt it."

"Will you get mad at me if I bring her up again?"

"Probably."

"Oh… (_sigh)_ …ok..."

* * *

_10:42 p.m. – Still Somewhere Under Tokyo

* * *

_

"Ladies, I have another call I have to attend to for a few minutes."

"It's almost 11 at night Sylia!"

"Running a store is a 24 hr a day job Nene. Now if you will excuse me…"

(_silence_)

"Linna?"

"_What Nene!"_

"Did Priss come to visit you back at your home?"

"_NENE! I don't…"_

"It's just… there was this night."

"… _want to…_ wait… _'This night?'_ What do you mean? What night?"

"Leon asked me to check on a chase the NP were engaged in. Turned out they were chasing Priss."

"_WHAT!_ Why?"

"The police files said she had driven in from the west at over 200 kph… she was driving like a maniac, ignoring roadblocks, weaving in and out of traffic, nearly killing several cops, then Leon caught up to her…"

_Oh my God _"Wait, who's Leon? Isn't he the one that…"

"Yeah, the same one I thought would make such a great couple with Priss. I think he's still really got the hots for her myself…"

"_Nene!"_

"Oh! Sorry. (_snicker)_ Anyway, when he caught up with her, she headed off on this bridge… but it was still under construction…"

"And?"

"She drove right off of it."

"_She did WHAT!"_

"She just drove right off the end of it… never slowed down, tried to stop, or anything according to Leon and Daily."

"Wh… What happened? Was she hurt?"

"Despite her best efforts, she apparently survived without a scratch… although Mackey said her bike wasn't so lucky."

"But… But… Wait… Nene! What day was that?"

"I think… it was Sunday. Yeah, last Sunday."

"_Are you sure?"_

"Of course I'm sure. I was there listening to it while it was happening! Anyway… what happened Linna? Did something happen between the two of you then? Is that why she was so out of control?"

"Nene… I… just can't believe… she…"

"Did Priss talk to you about the E-mail's? Is that what happened?"

"E-mail's? Wait…_ NENE! What did you see!"_

"Um… _Sorry Linna!_ I… I just… I was curious… and… while I was waiting to go catch the bus, I had a few minutes… so I…"

"_So you hacked into the mail servers and read MY E-mails to PRISS!"_

"Well, I didn't exactly _'read'_ them. I just peeked at a few of the more _'tame'_ lines since I was in a hurry and all. So, um… is that why Priss is so mad at you right now?"

"_Nene, I could kill you right now…"_

"Um, gee… guess it's a good thing there's a kilometer of concrete between the two of us right now, heh heh…"

"It's going to take more than that to keep me from ringing your neck!"

"Uh oh… Um, hey, look at that! I'm at my last target for the night." Click "Darn. Would you look at that, not there either. Oh well, guess I'd better go now."

"NENE!"

"See ya Linna! Don't have too much fun down here."

"_Get back here you little…"_

"It really amazes me sometimes how you two can worry about such trivial matters."

"_Sylia!_ ...umm... how long…"

"... have I been listening? Oh, not very… By the way Nene, which server did you find those E-mail's on?"

"_You wouldn't dare…" _

"I can show you when I get back to the pit Sylia. I'm on my way now."

"_Not before I rip you out of your hardsuit first."_

"Not now Linna… we've still got over thirty points to search."

"Sylia, you can't…"

"Besides, now that I know about them, you know I'd just find the E-mail's on my own anyway."

"_Sylia!"_

"So are you going to save me the trouble of reading them myself, or do I need to start surfing through mail servers until I find them?"

"…this just isn't fair…"

"By now I would think you would know that life isn't always fair Linna. Now, what did you send our little Priss that sent her into such a rage?"

"Nothing you need to be worried about Sylia."

"PRISS! My, so you're early too."

"Yeah, looks that way doesn't it. So where are these search points you started to talk about yesterday before you decided to wimp out on us."

"I was not 'wimping' out Ms. Asagiri! I think you'd know better than to start bringing up mental breakdowns right now."

"Fine. Just tell me where to go look."

"Linna and Nene have done these points so far this evening. Where would you like to start?"

"Where is the 'Green Hardsuit'?"

"Green…? Oh, she's searching right here."

"Ok. Then I'm starting over there."

"Oh… OK. Good, with you two searching, we should be able to wrap this up in a couple of days at the most."

"So what are we going to do if we find it?"

"WHEN we find her, Priss, I will take care of the rest. Your only concern should be identifying her location."

"Are you sure you'll be able… ab… a…"

"Priss?"

(_silence_)

"Priss? Are you OK?"

"Y… Yeah, I'm fine. J… Just a chill down here…"

"A chill? Are you seeing…"

"I SAID I'M FINE DAMNIT! Now… now where's that point again?"

"Priss… (_sigh)_ … This one right here."

"OK, I'm on my way."

"Sylia?"

"Yes Linna."

"I'm at the next point."

"OK, I'm ready."

_click. (groan)_ "I'm not seeing anything here either."

"Alright, which point do you want next?"

"This one."

"But isn't that taking you away…"

"I said THIS one! …oh… oh Sylia, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell…"

"It's OK Linna. _sigh_ Just let me know when you get to the next point. How is your body holding up?"

"I'm OK Sylia."

"How much longer do you think you can go? Half an hour ago you said…"

"I'm ALRIGHT Sylia! I… I've just got my second wind now, that's all."

"Second wind… of course…" (_sigh)_ "So just how long do you intend on searching then Linna?"

"As long as it takes."

"As long as it takes or just after Priss decides to stop?"

silence

"That's what I thought. (_snarling) __You two are so damn stubborn, you really do deserve each other!"_

(in unison) _"SYLIA!"_

_(snicker)_ "At least both of you agree on something.

* * *

11:06 p.m. – _Still Searching Under Tokyo_

* * *

(_yawn_) Listen ladies… I'm going to check on Mackey to make sure he's ready to take over. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone. And, Linna?" 

"Yes Sylia?"

"Do you think you can find it in your heart to help Priss with using the detector if she gets in position before I get back?"

"I don't need any help figuring out how to use this gizmo of yours Sylia."

"Priss, this is important…"

"It's OK Sylia, if the 'Blue Hardsuit' feels she can figure it out all by herself, then that's fine by me."

_(groan)_ "Alright. I can see this isn't going to work. Priss, if you need any help, just page me."

"Don't worry, I won't."

(_growling_) "Priss! Just… Oh, never mind! (_huff_) Just let me know if you find anything, OK?"

(_silence_)

"You two are impossible…"

_To be continued…_


	22. Ch 22: The Child That Would Be God

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 22 – The Child That Would Be God

By Analogk37

* * *

Linna Yamazaki picked through the dark underground ruins, mindlessly clawing her armored way to the next search point. She had long since stopped thinking of the ruined city surrounding her. In her mind were thoughts of the other Knight Saber searching on the opposite side of the virtual grid they worked through. Those thoughts weren't of the warm, longing variety that had accompanied her early days of recovery; these were harsh, cold, bitter thoughts of the icy hatred the other woman had dealt from her sharp tongue and hardened fists.

Distracted, the Green Hardsuit tripped on a slab of broken concrete, throwing her balance off just enough to force the woman to stumble. Managing to catch herself before falling, Linna reward was a fresh stab of agony from her burning abdomen… the initial point of the trauma that was the accident… and also the point of attack from the woman that Linna had at one brief point in her life thought she might actually love. She bit back a grunt, trying to hide the pain that served as the ultimate reminder of her recent ordeals.

However, even through the flaring pain, questions remained in her broken heart… questions of recently discovered incidents in which she found herself still concerned about the singer's well being despite the immense walls now erected between them. Linna pushed the questions to the back of her hardened heart, dwelling instead on the unmistakable hostility that Priss still harbored in her own frigid soul.

Meanwhile, the woman, unaware of being mentally lambasted by the country girl, took a deep breath while trying to regain her calm. Her dismounted helmet off to the side, Priss fidgeted with the foreign symbol hung around her neck. Not a religious person, the singer wondered if the man who had given this trinket even believed in the message it conveyed.

Priss found herself clutching the distraction from her suffering, trying to vainly draw strength from its metal construction. Sighing deeply, she tucked the silver cross inside of her softsuit and cautiously slid back into her hardsuit, humming with electricity from the newly replaced battery. When the hardsuit constricted tightly around her torso she was forced to pause for a moment, struggling to steady her shaking hands. Gritting her teeth hard enough to hurt, the woman lowered those trembling hands to grasp her helmet while attempting to lock her fingers into her will. Finally donning the helmet, Priss checked the HUD to orient herself within the underground caverns again.

It was only then that Priss let herself think of the other woman working on the search. Her original intentions were to try and ignore Linna as much as possible and concentrate on the task at hand. Unfortunately, that had proved impossible the second she activated the com system on the hardsuit. Nene's curiosity proved to be the undoing of her plans since she had to deal with the painful reminders of Linna's E-mails to her… and deal with it she had. Accusing Sylia of 'whimping' out when Priss knew all too well exactly what she was probably going through at the time was an extremely cruel tact. However, it proved to be a most effective way to turn the conversation from things she would much rather leave dead and buried.

With her thoughts focused on the search once more, she pushed Linna along with Leon and his strange gift towards the back of her conscious as she blasted her way through a wall and into the next tunnel over.

Elsewhere deep within the gaping hole opened up in the middle of old Tokyo, electricity pulsed through the completed sections of the dragonline network, breathing a momentary light on the darkened parts of the ruined city. As the crackling ball coursed past certain sections of the crumbling debris, it was drawn into organic roots of metal sprouting from an odd shaped orb. Within that cocoon, an eerie glow strengthened from the thin strands of negativity sucked into its core. The object emanating that glow continued to patiently wait, bathing in the nursing juices being fed down from the heavens… waiting until just the right moment when it would walk the surface of the planet once more… once more free to exert its influence on the beings that created it… specifically waiting for the one being who it had been 'born' from … waiting, watching and waiting… _Sylia… Sylia, it's time now… I'm ready… come and find me Sylia… I'm ready to play with you now… _

But even as the being stretched out with an invisible hand while reaching for one of the Stingray's, another presence came into focus instead. As it concentrated its energies on the other contact, the being discovered the identity to be a relative… a very 'close' relative in fact…

* * *

"Mackey, I'm in position."

"Go ahead Linna."

The Knight Saber pulled the trigger, holding her breath momentarily while the device's electrical pulses echoed audibly through the concrete cave she had dug herself into. The familiar sound of rejection answered the high-pitched call. "Damn, not here either." The woman lowered the barrel of the detector as she sighed heavily, pushing back the various aches and pains suggesting her early (in her own mind) retirement for the evening. "OK, where to next Mackey?"

Linna waited, expecting a momentary pause while the young boy checked the map again. After giving him more than adequate time for that simple task, and a couple of pained twangs from her abdomen just from the effort of breathing, her patience finally wore thin. "Mackey? Mackey, are you there?"

Silence once again answered her communications.

"Gee…" she started to comment before stopping herself from starting a conversation with the last person in the world she wanted to talk to right now. Linna thought back to the comments from nearly an hour ago… the comments that had erased any doubt as to where the two women stood with each other now. _"I don't need any help…" _Priss had spat out. _My help _Linna understood the unsaid part of the message. _Well, if she wants to be that way still, fine by me _even though the country girl's heart still questioned that thought, mostly because of recently discovered events of what really happened after the incident with her and Masaki… thanks to Nene…

A faint voice pulled Linna from her own personal hell. "there."

"Mackey? Mackey, what did you say?"

"Huh… what? Linna?"

"Earth to Mackey… are you still there."

"There. That's the one."

"One what? If you're talking about the next point, I don't…" she started before the virtual map appeared on her visor, showing the target in question. "OK, I see it now. Hey, but that's way out of my way."

"That's the one," the boy repeated, his voice remaining distant.

"I don't know…" Linna began to interrupt before a short, piercing scream cut her off.

"YAAA---"

"_What the hell was…"_

"priss? Priss! PRISS! Her… her signal's gone!" Mackey yelled out; focus returning to his thoughts and transmitting through his terror filled words. "Priss? Priss, can you hear me?"

A tense silence filled the airwaves as the boy waited for any sign of the suddenly missing Saber. As the seconds ticked by, his heart pounded with anxious fear. With hope fading, he turned to the only person who might be able to quickly assist. "Linna? Linna, can you go see if she needs help?"

The second she heard the scream, Linna's own heart began thumping hard in her chest. But with every beat, the broken shards of bitterness tore into the common sense dictated by the situation. Finally, the word Mackey used… _"help"_… it again dredged up the scarring curses spoken by Priss, condemning the singer to fate… and Linna to hers as well. "She's tough. I'm sure she'll be just fine. Besides, she wouldn't want my _help_ anyway."

Mackey hadn't been invited to the 'all girls' meeting the previous night, and as such wasn't privy to the torrent of events that had transpired. Thus the boy argued, not understanding the reasons for her unreasonable attitude. "But… but, LINNA!"

"Besides, didn't you say you had another point to check?"

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing. That point is closer to me than where the Blue Hardsuit is right now. I'll check this one, and once I'm done, I'll see if 'IT' still needs a hand." With that, the hurt Saber switched the com channel off to stop the young Stingray's protests. She wasn't going to even let herself think about lending the other Saber a hand… the dark lump of bitterness rotting in her soul would make sure of that.

"Linna? Linna! This isn't good," he finally mumbled to himself. Mackey wasn't sure why she had done it exactly, but he knew the Green Saber had turned off her receiver. He wasn't too worried about Linna since the transponder was still functioning… his main concern at the moment was Priss. The boy had a sinking feeling of what might have had happened to her… especially since he had 'sensed' the invisible hand closing towards the unsuspecting Blue Saber. Mackey didn't know why 'she' had decided to play with Priss… only that there seemed to be some sense of familiarity for some strange reason… almost as if 'she' had 'played' with her before...

His thoughts raced as he stared at the screen. Only one course of action finally came to mind. "I've got to tell Sylia." He spun out of the chair and ran towards the bedroom that he knew she was resting in, hoping that there would still be time to help once he got there.

* * *

Priss was just on the verge of wondering what the country girl was carrying on about when the whispers floated from the back of her consciousness. As she focused, the singer thought she recognized one of the voices in her head. _Mackey? _she silently thought out, only to 'see' something else materialize from her tortured nightmares.

A wispy green hand shot out of the middle of nowhere to fly directly at her. She managed to scream out briefly before the hand silenced her cries as it constricted around her throat. Paralyzed, she struggled with the physical assault she appeared to be under. Her ears picked up sounds in her helmet, feeding the information into her scattered brain as it fought with control over her body functions. She could hear Mackey's pleas, but despite her struggles couldn't find the voice to respond.

_… help… please… help… Mackey… Nene… Sylia… somebody… anybody… _Priss vainly attempted to move, to speak, to do anything but just stand there, her body frozen in place by the petrifying green ice trapping her.

Then a reply to her unspoken pleas… the betrayer's voice… and the damning words that spilled out of the speakers of her helmet and into her blacked soul once more… _"She's tough. I'm sure she'll be just fine."_

Rage exploded out of her heart, the invisible grip evaporating from around her body, freeing the Blue Saber from the virtual hold… but at the same time fraying the strands of sanity from her mind as a greenish mist permeated through the empty space within her soul. _I'll kill her… I'll kill the bitch. Leave me for dead! She'll pay for that… she'll pay… she'll pay… I'll kill… kill her… kill… no… not kill… suffer… yeah, suffer… b…b…b… break a f…few bones… yeah… th… then… then I'll kill her… yeah… bitch… kill the bitch… kill… _The Blue Demon honed in on the other Knight Sabers signal, unaware that her own transponder wasn't functioning along with a few other systems… overloaded from an energy spike transmitted from the nearby dragonline network…

* * *

Mackey burst into the bedroom shouting at the top of his lungs. "SYLIA! SYLIA, it's her! She's alive! And Priss is in trouble! And Linna's not answering either!"

The startled woman only half asleep immediately sat up at the first cry of her name. "Wha… wait… slow down Mackey! What's… wrong… with…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes came into focus, her room dimly lit by an eerie green glow. It wasn't so much the color that worried Sylia as the source… "Mackey… Mackey, what's going on?"

The boy realized his sister was staring at him for some particular reason, which prompted his face to shift downwards. His eyes widened with fear at discovering the source of the unnatural light in the room to be his very body…_"Oh no.."_

"Are… are you… Okay?"

"I… I think… It's her. She… she's calling me…" he answered, just as the glow died off from his body.

Sylia stared at the 'boy', resisting the urge to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. Suddenly, a few pieces of what Mackey had been clamoring about clicked into place. "She? You mean…"

"And she attacked Priss."

"Oh God…. Is… is she…"

"I don't know. I lost contact with her as soon as it happened. Linna's not responding anymore either."

"What! Was she attacked too?"

"I don't think so."

Sylia's mind spun as she tried to comprehend the situation. Deciding to plan on the way, she ripped the covers off of her legs. "I've got to hurry," she said to herself. Sylia jumped out of bed, now fully alert, and ran past Mackey towards the door.

The boy tried following her before Sylia whirled around and held out a shaking hand to his chest.

"No, you've got to stay here. She… she's already starting to affect…"

"But we'll need everybody…"

"I SAID NO DAMNIT!" Her burning eyes bored through Mackey with a ferocity he had never seen before, driving a stark fear throughout his body. Sylia recognized his fear, disarming her stance momentarily. "I'm sorry, but it's too risky. You'll have to stay here… I just don't want anything to happen to you. Do you understand?"

"I understand," he answered meekly, doing his best to put on a good show for her.

"OK then. I've got to hurry."

As Mackey watched Sylia run out the door, he resolved not to let her get too big of a head start before following anyway…

* * *

_Just one minute before…_

Before heading into work for the evening shift, Nene decided to check on Sylia to make sure of what time to continue the search in the morning. Thus, she was on her way up from the pit when the phone rang in her pocket, just as the elevator stopped on the floor she wanted to get off of. She pulled the bright yellow phone out of her recently donned ADP uniform, smiling once again at the ultra-cute replacement she had found for her recently destroyed one.

"Hello?"

"Hi Nene, its Leon," the male voice on the other end answered.

"Oh, hi Leon-poo," the ADP dispatcher answered surprised, wondering why he would be calling her now. She quickly decided to draw out the ruse long enough to come up with a good way to end the conversation. "How are you feeling now? Hope that boomer didn't do any permanent damage the other day."

"No, nothing worse than I've had before. Say, um, have you seen Priss, um, _recently_?"

"See her?" she questioned evasively, realizing ending the call wouldn't be as easy as she hoped. "Actually, no I haven't _seen_ her," Nene continued as she walked slowly towards Sylia's room.

"Well, have you heard from her then?"

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be resting right now?"

"Nene! Just answer the question. I… I'm just worried about her…"

"WHY would you be so worried mister!" she asked accusingly.

"It's something she told me she was doing tonight… something she was searching for… I thought you might have heard something about it, that's all."

Nene's brain stopped functioning as the ruse she thought she was working under evaporated from the light of his words. Questions popped in the girls head… questions she found herself afraid to ask.

Those questions distracted her just enough so that she was caught totally off guard by the robed woman bursting through the door in front of her, knocking her smallish frame against the wall and down to the ground with a thud.

"Oww! Hey, Sylia! What's going on?" she called out to the back of the woman now running down the hall. Sylia appeared to ignore her as she rounded the corner and was gone from sight. "You could stop long enough to see if I'm OK, you know!"

"It's Priss, she's in trouble and Linna's not answering either!" Mackey yelled as he stuck out a hand to help his blond friend up.

Despite being momentarily surprised by his sudden appearance, Nene quickly digested the words as she took his hand and hauled herself upright again. "Priss? Linna? Oh man… and Sylia?"

"I think she's going for her hardsuit."

"This can't be good. C'mon then, we've got to hurry."

Mackey didn't bother to bring up the fact that Sylia had ordered him to stay, nor did he mention any of the reasons why… reasons he didn't exactly understand himself just yet.

The two ran off in Sylia's wake towards the pit, unaware of the phone sitting on the ground… its small speaker broken in the fall… silencing the cries of the man on the other end for someone to pick it up… screaming for someone to tell him what happened to Priss. After a few more moments of fruitless effort, Leon cut the connection, deciding to take matters into his own hands…

* * *

_What if something really happened to her? No, no I'm sure she's fine. Probably slipped on something… anyway, she wouldn't want my help even if I was the last person on Earth… _

Linna's internal arguments stopped as she realized she had reached the next target. The Green Saber aimed the detector and pulled the trigger… the response wasn't the one she was expecting. She blinked hard and stared at the visual readout for a moment before excitedly activating her com channel.

"Oh my God, I think… I think I've found it! Mackey! Mackey. Go get Sylia. I think I've found it!"

The voice that answered on the other end of the channel wasn't the one she was expecting either. "Linna? Linna, where are you?" Sylia's anxious question barked out.

"Sylia? I'm right here," the country girl answered, displaying her location on the virtual map they had been working on. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'm in my hardsuit and headed out now. Have you heard from Priss?"

_In her hardsuit? _"N… No, I've had my com channel turned off for a few minutes," she admitted sheepishly.

"Linna! Why on Earth would you…" Sylia started angrily before an equally angry voice cut off her rant.

"She's a big girl Sylia! Priss made it quite clear she didn't want my help."

"Damnit Linna, now's not the time to act like…"

"I don't care Sylia! The only reason I came back to Tokyo was to help you find this Galatea thing. Well, I've found it now so will you…"

Linna's emotional tirade halted at the sound of maniacal laughter bouncing off the walls around her. Haunting words that followed echoed inside of the underground cavern and would echo inside her mind for a long time afterwards as well…

"_Yes, but now I've found you BITCH!"_

_"Wha… Priss?"_ An explosion from above that distinctly sounded like a knucklebomb blast shattered the relative calm. The blast caused the ceiling to collapse on top of the green hardsuit knocking it flat to the ground, the massive weight pinching down tight on her entire body.

"LINNA! What was that?" Nene's panicked voice just now coming on line screamed out over the com channel.

"Unnh… can't… move… " she struggled to answer even as the hardsuit began to respond to her desperate attempts to break through the crumbling ruins. The metal and concrete creaked and groaned as the power enhanced suit methodically started to rise from its burial spot… until Linna's assailant took advantage of her precarious situation...

"_I don't think so Miss Superhero…"_

A crashing thud against the back of the hardsuit slammed Linna's chest back into the rubble below. Ripples of fire coursed through her spine from the unnatural force of being bent backwards nearly in half. After a few moments, her vision slowly seemed to clear but darkness still covered her eyes. The sound of the hardsuit locks springing open finally alerted her that the blow had shattered her battery. The momentary relief of freedom was immediately replaced with a sickening sensation of helplessness as the pile shifted above the hardsuit, rumbling over and holding the halves together. Trapped… power gone… helpless… hopeless… then, more laughter… insane, mad laughter… not moving, just staring, watching, gloating, laughing… through the darkness of the suit's helmet, the laughter breeding the claustrophobic fear choking bravery into submission.

"_Oh God… oh god… help… somebody help… please… please help…"_ Linna weakly croaked out through the unrelenting coffin of debris above her… the desperate words falling onto deaf ears of a woman driven past the point of sanity not only by a tentative love scorned, but by the playful whims of a mere child…

* * *

Sylia's crying pleas transmitted through the com channels with a panicked frenzy. "Linna? Linna, answer me! Linna!"

"I thought I heard Priss' voice," Nene threw in as she ran up to Sylia's hardsuit next to the launch tubes. "What the Hell's happening out there!"

"Nene! I thought you were gone already."

"What? You don't remember knocking me over?"

Sylia was about to ask when she noticed Mackey running up behind Nene. "I thought I told you to stay upstairs!"

Mackey stopped in his tracks as the imposing White Saber took a step in his direction, visor closed tightly on the helmet. "I… I just want to help," he argued once again, voice cracking under the intimidating pose from his 'sister'.

"It's too dangerous right now."

"Sylia's right," Nene agreed, although unaware as to the exact reasons of her leader's stance, "He can stay here and monitor us from the pit though, right?" she questioned.

Sylia paused for just a second. "Alright, but let me know if anything… happens," she finished quickly, hiding the true words she wanted to speak since she remembered she was in Nene's company.

Nene was too distracted to notice the awkward tone in Sylia's voice, instead focusing on the task of finding the other two Knight Sabers. "I've got a fix on Linna's last known location. I'm heading out now," she announced, running for the launch tube.

"I'm right behind you Nene," Sylia replied as she turned back towards Mackey and whispered to him. "Since you're here, do you remember where the microwave cannon is?"

"Y… yes," he answered meekly.

"Good. Go get it quickly. I have a feeling this will all be over shortly."

"R… right." Mackey spun around and headed out the door.

Sylia walked over to the launch controls, taking a deep breath to calm herself… and to transmit that calm to the other remaining Knight Saber. "Ready Nene?"

"Ready," the young Saber answered, displaying a certain confidence that Sylia couldn't help but notice.

"Go!" The red hardsuit shot off into the night just as Mackey ran into the pit, hauling the huge cannon over his shoulder.

"Thanks Mackey," the White Saber said genuinely as she effortlessly lifted up the device and walked over to the launch tube.

A minute later, she was airborne, flying off on what would hopefully be the final mission in the legacy of the Knight Sabers if everything went according to plan…

* * *

Linna lay trapped in her armored binds, unable to move a muscle. The strength of the metallic construction prevented the weight of the pile above from crushing her… but that only seemed to be prolonging her suffering. Senses deprived of all other stimulus due to the dead power supply; she was forced to listen to her tormentor continuing to rant on.

"_You want me to kill her… kill her now… No? Play with her? Yeah, like she played with me… bitch… lying bitch… Ha! Liar… mousy country girl… should've know better… a girl… just playing with me… yeah, she did… bitch… Die? Heh, heh… she'll die… just like a boomer… die like all the others… like Kat… No! not that… not him… don't bring him up again! Who? Play with who? Why? why… why did she… why did she write me… why… why did she say that… Linna… Linna… I… I'm sorry Linna… I never meant to… where… where's Linna… Linna… bitch… yeah, the bitch… kill her! Kill her… kill… ha, ha… she's gonna die… h. h. ha, ha, ha she's gonna die… die… die… ha h h h ha, ha, ha…"_

The laughter finally faded away, an unnerving silence falling over Linna's ears. Thankful at first for the insane woman to finally leave, her mind quickly changed as different fears began running rampant through her mind….

_Somebody has to find me… they just have to… but… my battery's dead… can… can Sylia still find me? What if they don't… what if… what if no one ever finds me… _

The only sounds audible were her own terrified breaths, becoming more and more shallow with every passing second… the seconds turning into minutes… minutes multiplying into eternity…

Finally, armored footsteps echoed from somewhere around. Hope intermixed with fear of Priss coming back once more…. then… Nene's panicked voice…

"Linna? Is that you?" she asked as she saw a part of the green hardsuit protruding from the pile of rubble. "LINNA! Oh my God… what happened? Are you OK?" She began to easily clear away the debris with her powered suit. Once the damage became visible on the back of Linna's hardsuit, Nene gasped audibly. "God, what… what did this? Linna? Linna speak to me, please!"

With most of the debris cleared, Linna's arms began to move telling Nene all she wanted to know right away.

"Thank God your alive! Hold on, I'll have you up in a second." Clearing the ruined battery away, the Red Saber replaced it with a fresh one.

Electricity surged through the Green Hardsuit, but it only served to amplify Linna's trembling body. Armored arms shook as the terrified woman scampered to her hands and knees but then crouched down against the wall.

"_Linna… what… what happened to you?"_ Nene whispered out as she slowly approached the quaking girl shaking in the shadows before her.

"_What happened? What happened! PRISS happened!" _she shot out, her head swiveling back and forth as she scanned for any sign of the demon lurking in the shadows around her.

"Priss? I though… I heard a voice… but…" The cowering person before her drew the compassion out from Nene's heart. She reached down and embraced Linna for a few moments, trying to sooth her as best she could. "I don't think she's around here right now. My scanners aren't picking up anything. It… It's going to be OK now Linna."

"Th… thank's Nene," she stammered, calm slowly returning to her shaken nerves.

"Hey, where's Sylia?" Nene realized, spinning her head around before checking on the scans. "She was right behind me with that device in hand… wait, I've got her signal… it's down there…"

"Maybe Priss…" Linna cautioned.

"Sylia? Sylia can you hear me? Damn, too much interference that way for some reason. I'm losing her signal. Come on, let's make sure she's OK."

"Wait, that's… that's the direction of that thing…"

"What?"

"I found it. I found Galatea… she's down that way."

"Oh no… COME ON, we've got to hurry. Sylia could be in trouble!"

Nene ran off down the corridor with Linna close behind, keeping a nervous eye out for any sign of her attacker. They rounded a corner to find a long hallway illuminated with electrical pulsing glows. Linna followed Nene into something that looked to be the mouth of Hell itself…

Nene was the first to spot the White Saber off to one side of the room, the large device held on her shoulder aimed at the large egg shaped object hanging off to the side. Four 'probes' attached to the object with wires running back to the device that appeared to be some sort of weapon by the stance their leader was taking.

"Sylia, What are…" Nene's unfinished question was stopped by the entrance of someone else in another passageway to the room….

"Go ahead Sylia, finish what you started," a pale faced man wearing a very expensive suit encouraged.

Sylia glanced once in his direction, then turned and fired the canon into the egg shaped cocoon. The entire room lit up in crackles of blue light from the intensity of the blast. Nene noticed the smell of burnt metal strong enough to flow through the hardsuit filters. After a few coursing seconds, the blast finally stopped…

"It's over," Sylia announced, accomplishment intermixed with sadness in her voice.

"Not quite," the male observer corrected.

With a burst of energy from within, the cocoon began to flow and melt… a green wave shimmering throughout the entire room as it started to dissolve.

"What the Hell's happening?" Linna's confused voice cried out just as her armored arms froze in place. _"Again? Oh… oh god… Nene… Sylia… what's going on… I… can't… move…"_

"I can't either!" Nene shouted out equally panicked.

The floor turned to putty at their feet, then another crying voice joined in the fray.

"_Priss!"_ Linna announced with a loathing voice just as the Blue Saber staggered in the room, hands tearing at her helmet.

Nene's voice filled the chamber next "MACKEY!"

The young boy walked up to the melting cocoon, his whole body glowing that same maddening color. He approached the metal flow in a zombie like state ignoring everyone else… Nene included. Before him, the liquid metal curtains parted. What looked to be a small child wearing nothing else but that same color appeared in the unnatural opening. She smiled and stared directly into the young boy approaching. Then, just as his arm rose to touch her, he simply collapsed in a heap.

"MACKEY! NO!" Nene cried out from her helpless state in the frozen hardsuit.

The man in the gray suit walked up to the young girl and held out his hand. She smiled at him, nodding some kind of acknowledgement, and then took his hand with her own glowing one.

* * *

Leon dropped down through a familiar hole in the concrete below. "She's got to be close to here, damnit! She's got to be…" Studying the blank screen of the tracker he held in his hand, frustration began to get the better of him. He gripped the handle furiously trying to squeeze Priss' location out of it. "I know that damn cross was working when I gave it to her. Maybe… maybe I'm just not close enough yet."

He twisted his head either way down the passage he was in. Finally deciding on one direction over the other, Leon ran down the path trying to follow his footsteps from a few weeks ago when he tracked the boomer eating monster with Daily… and hoping that Priss wasn't too far from that lab…

* * *

Cries in the darkness of the aftermath haunted the dark chamber with despair. Nene's sobbing voice, calling out to the unconscious Mackey… Priss' mental groans of agony… Sylia's pleading voice calling to it… to her… to Galetea… then her new guardian boasted loudly over the suffering sounds…

"Thank you so very much ladies for _assisting_ me in this endeavor. I'm sure the citizens in Tokyo will now be _forever_ in your debt… or perhaps it shall in fact turn out to be the other way around I'm afraid."

With that, the man left with his prize in hand, walking out of the hellish womb as his entourage joined him in the hallway leading to the surface.

"S… Sylia… Sylia, wh… what do we do now?" Getting no direct answer, Linna could sense the fog over her leader's voice… Sylia's thoughts scrambled as evidenced by her distant and rambling voice… calling that name over and over. Still unable to move, she tried to get through the only other Saber she wanted to talk to at the moment. "Nene… Nene, can you hear me?" Linna cried out. "Nene… c'mon… snap out of it… we've got to do something…"

Linna's words finally managed to break through the dark veil drawn over Nene's mind. "L…Linna… yeah… got to… help them… somehow…"

"I still can't move. Can you think of any way to get out of these suits?"

"Wait, the battery latch. There should be an emergency battery disconnect in your left hand."

"I… I feel something…"

"Hang on, let me try first." The young Saber hit the awkward switch and felt the locks pop, but the suit remained closed. "I think the outer shell's still fused… gonna… have… to… push… THERE!" she announced as the two halves of her suit cracked apart. The young woman tumbled out of her hardsuit and onto the rippling floor. Pulling off her helmet and tossing it to one side, she looked up at the unmoving male form lying at the epicenter of destruction just a few meters away.

Meanwhile, Linna continued to struggle with her own hardsuit. "Nene, I can't find that switch… Nene… Nene…"

Everything else blurred for the young Saber as she slowly, methodically walked up to his body… her mind fearing the worst based on the complete lack of movement from his still form.Keeling down next to him, she gently stroked his cheek with a trembling hand. His skin felt cold, lifeless. Her eyes watered badly, blurring his white shirt with the dark ground. "mackey…" Nene circled her arms around his neck and pulled him into her lap, bending over and kissing his forehead as tears rained onto his face. "Mackey… why… what happened…" But as she folded over, burying her face into his neck, she felt something strange… something unnaturally out of place. The shaking stopped as curiosity screamed out from the back of her head.

Through her hands she could feel a vibration of sorts with a certain hum about it. Her skin tingled with bits of static electricity as clues began to fall into place. Her mind sensed it, her body knew it, but her soul wouldn't admit what she had discovered. Slowly, she lifted her head up to look into Mackey's eyes, and from that blank stare she could see the verification of her fears… the near microscopic details that her experience with the ADP and computers in general told her… the unmistakable signs of artificial construction. _…the secret…_ A discovery a few minutes too late, Nene thought. "But… but, it was… he was… is… he said… he loved me…"

In that momentary pause, a decision was made in her soul. In all her life, Nene Romanova had never given so much of her heart and trust to anyone else. Now she knew Mackey's secret and thought back over the short time she had known him. She instantly understood the reasons for his hiding this truth from her. As she looked down onto the rigid body in her arms, she couldn't help but forgive him. Her heart trusted in their love… and that was good enough for Nene.

"Mackey… Mackey, I… I don't care if you're not human… I… I still love you… Mackey… Mackey, can you hear me? Mackey? Mackey, please… wake up… please… mackey… Mackey!" Doubt swelled within as the young woman hugged onto him tightly, unsure how to help a being that she now realized she knew so little about.

* * *

Leon turned the corner and stopped, staring down into the blank detector once again. Suddenly a green light flickered in front of him as two shapes slithered past at the end of the long corridor. Just as he was about to investigate a ping from the hand held gadget brought his attention down to the screen. "There… just up ahead." With that, the big man scampered down the passageway and towards the woman he was so distraught over.

* * *

In Linna's limited field of vision, she could see the blue hardsuit writhing on the liquid metal floor. Even within Priss' obvious pain, the hurt woman inwardly smiled, still bitterly resentful of the insane actions of her former teammate.

Returning her focus on getting out of the hardsuit, she finally found the latch that Nene had mentioned and popped the locks. The suit wouldn't open immediately so Linna attempted to force it open. With a metallic clank, the armor cracked like a clamshell, sending a tearing sensation gutting inside of her, reinjuring her wounded midsection. Linna doubled over onto the rippling floor, clutching her burning abdomen while facing Priss' own twitching armor. Listening to her moans as distant fear collapsed on her soul, she was almost happy at her suffering as it mirrored her own agonized pain.

Linna turned her head and saw Sylia motionless on the ground. Instinctively, she crawled over to help her leader out. The weary woman struggled for a few minutes but finally managed to pull Sylia from the hardsuit. After removing the helmet from her head, Linna looked into her glassy eyes, Sylia's whispering lips quivering one word, over and over… "Galatea… Galatea…"

Her heart reached out to her fallen leader as the depth of her own personal failure began to rear its dark and ugly head to the relatively innocent country girl. She held Sylia's suffering soul close to the heart while listening as Nene's own sobs finally quieted down in the distance. After a while even Priss' tortured voice died away, draping the room in an eerie silence.

Finally, Nene's composure returned enough for rational thought to come forth once more. "We've got to help them."

Linna did the math in her head… three down… two to help… one has to stay behind. She looked at Priss' still form… "She's not going anywhere," her blackened heart stabbed out.

Linna and Nene struggled for a few minutes but finally began to carry Mackey and Sylia out until the shorter Saber's question momentarily stopped their retreat. "What about Priss?"

Linna didn't so much as glance back in her fallen teammates direction as she answered. "We're leaving her here."

A burst of clarity opened Sylia's mind for just a moment as a mental picture revealed itself through Galatea's brief contact with her. "Priss… we can't… wasn't her fault…"

"What the Hell do you mean 'wasn't her fault'!" Linna shot out, nearly dropping the slumping woman to the ground in her rage.

"Galatea… controlling her… invaded her mind… wasn't her…"

Looking back at the blue hardsuit… thinking back… recalling the laughter… insane, mad, uncontrollable laughter… _It… it all… makes… sense…_ "Oh no…"

Linna did drop Sylia to the floor as she hurried over to the blue hardsuit and crawled onto the its back. Clawing at the battery, her bloody fingers finally dislodged the useless power source. With a grunt she lifted on the back of the blue armor, its creaking joints finally giving way. "Hang on Priss, just… just hang on." She slid the shaky body out and lifted her helmet off.

Horrified over-dilated brown eyes stared up into the dark ceiling as Linna rolled her body onto her lap, sweat drenched softsuit clinging to her hands. Whatever lingering resentment remaining in Linna's heart dissolved in that instant, dissipating with the knowledge of why everything had happened. "It wasn't you Priss, I… I know now. It wasn't you…" Linna tried to sooth her friend as she trembled in her arms, unresponsive to the woman helping her.

Then, another voice… "Priss? Priss, are you in there? Priss!" Yelled a big man that Linna didn't recognize even though Nene called him by name.

"Leon?"

The burly ADP officer ignored the blond haired woman and ran directly up to Priss, glaring at Linna with more than just recognition in his eyes. Wordless accusations burrowed from those eyes and into the country girl holding the fallen woman in her arms. With a huff, he reached down and nearly ripped Priss from Linna's cradling lap, lifting her up and carrying her off into the tunnels without another word.

"Wait, please! Priss? Priss! priss… i… i'm sorry… priss… i… i didn't know…" Linna's unanswered cries echoed back into the chamber of evil surrounding her, its hollow sound a mirror for the wrenching feelings tearing at her heart.

_To be continued…_


	23. Ch 23: What Gods Are Made From

Another Fortunate Accident

Ch. 23 – What Gods Are Made From

* * *

"Why did you set me free? Do you really wish for your people to suffer so?" the young girl asked of the pale man lying in her teenage lap.

"I have no ties to any of my kind," the embittered human answered truthfully.

"So because you have no bonds to speak of, then you desire for all of mankind to die?"

"No, not die. Just suffer… that's all. Suffer." _Suffer as I have _

"Then revenge is your primary motivation, is it not?"

"I… I suppose you would be correct Galatea. But it runs much deeper than that…"

"As deep as the boomer part of your body Mason?"

"Y… Yes. How did you… of course. How couldn't you have known. You are a God after all…"

"A God? Why do you insist on referring to me in that manner?"

"Because you have the power to create that which was not there before… because you will lead your children to a better place… because you are unlike anything else that walks the face of this accursed planet."

"So God is really nothing more than a creation of man…"

"Wh… What?" Mason stammered out from his surprise at the blunt assessment. "Well, I suppose that is one way to explain it."

Galatea pondered those thoughts in silence for a time, gently stroking the slick hair of the human still resting in her lap. Another question came to her mind as the child-god considered the purpose of her existence on this planet. "Why did you have me kill your leader as soon as I was released?"

"Leader? You mean Rosenkreutz… He wasn't my leader. He was merely a tool really… just a tool to obtain what I really wanted."

"So you used him much as you used my sister."

"Sylia? Yes, I suppose that would be an accurate statement."

"You two are very alike in that regard."

"How is that?"

"She uses those other women in much the same way. She tells them only what they need to know to fight for her, not what they are truly fighting for."

Mason snickered as he recalled the difficulties his rival had experienced. "That almost caused Sylia to lose her team though. She wasn't careful enough in their use."

"It appeared to be more of an internal conflict between two of them. Why is that?"

"Which two are you referring to? Would it be the singer and that outsider?"

"Yes. The singer had quite a… hatred I think would be the right word… for the one named Linna. The singer, Priss, I have found her to be a very emotional human… much like Sylia, in fact."

"How would you know? Was it… wait, it was the assassin boomer I used at the club. So you did influence its behavior after all."

"Yes, yes I did. I had grown just strong enough to affect other boomers in that fashion. I never expected to have contact with one of Sylia's boomers however. I was curious to find a human connected to a boomer in such a manner. Strangely enough, the singer didn't even realize she was connected to the boomer in that way. I tried to show her the link, but her emotions impeded understanding."

"What do you mean? Did she panic?"

"Much more than that I think. I believe she was not able to recognize my communications with her, nor could I understand her reaction to something that was already a part of her. It seemed that as soon as she began to realize the depth of the connection between herself and her 'hardsuit' as they call it, Priss attempted to reject the connection itself."

"Reject it? But you said that it was a part of her. So what happened next?"

"Her mind appeared to fragment, splitting itself into separate parts as a means of self preservation. I believe it was a very traumatic experience for the human."

"And yet she still aided in the search two days later."

"Yes, quite incredible considering the apprehension she still harbored when wearing the hardsuit. She originally intended to try and destroy me."

"Originally? What changed?"

"It was the first time I was able to communicate with a human other than my mother in that way. I suggested that she turn her anger towards the human that drew out the strongest emotions from her soul instead."

"That Hugh Geit employee… Linna Yamazaki…"

"Yes, I believe that was her name. Priss held much hatred for that woman for some reason I still do not fully understand."

Mason smiled a sly grin as he looked towards the wall. "Love is such a beautiful instrument."

"What do you mean?"

"That employee, Linna, she was in love with the singer. She wrote her several E-mails professing that love. That's how I confirmed the identity of Sylia's team. Then while investigating how to fully utilize her resources, I learned of what happened between the two of them… the singer found the other woman in the arms of another man. And that betrayal ironically enough drove Priss into the arms of an ADPolice officer."

"Leon McNichol."

"Yes, the one I programmed the boomer to attack in order to 'persuade' the singer join in your search once again. All those events stemming from a single fortunate accident a few weeks ago."

"Accident? Would you be referring to the office boomer that used the Green Hardsuit as a shield?"

"Yes. You can recall that incident?"

"Yes I can. That boomer was very… frightened… by Sylia's team. I have wondered if the Knight Sabers ever considered the emotions of the boomers they strive so hard to kill."

"I doubt it. They were very easy to manipulate from my vantage point. I found them to be very self-absorbed."

"As did I. You mentioned that term earlier… love… is that why the singer's hatred was so impassioned?"

"Yes, I believe so. Though at first she appeared to feel very guilty about causing the Hugh Geit employee to lose her fertility."

"Fertility?"

"Yes. Ms. Yamazaki's injuries weren't life threatening, but they did irreparable damage to her reproductive organs. Thus she is now unable to bear her own children. At the time I used that as a means to force her away from Hugh Geit thinking that she might spread rumors among internal Genom employee's… but that was before I learned of her connection with the Knight Sabers."

"So she is infertile… much as my own body is constructed currently."

"Galatea, you almost sound displeased with this state. Why is that?"

"I am not sure. But, but I think I would like to know more about my growth… and how I was originally made."

"I see. I can help supply some information for you, but much was lost in the earthquake and still more rests beneath Tokyo today."

Galatea paused for a time, then rose from her bed and called down the strange cloudlike creatures that accompanied her eerie song of transformations.

"Then I desire to obtain as much as I can on this subject."

"What?"

"Mason, do you not wish to serve your new God?"

"Y… yes Galatea, of course."

"Then do my bidding now my willing servant. Retrieve everything that you can from my original construction. I want everything that still exists today… and I wish it to be located here."

"Here? In the tower?"

"Yes. I want everything you can find. Leave no piece of rubble untouched in your search."

"Yes my Queen. I will do as you command." And with that, Mason left Galatea to find every trace of her original formation from the ruins of the buried Wizlab.

* * *

_End of Another Fortunate Accident…Continued in AFA Intermission: Reflections._


End file.
